Download now (496 KB)

Download now

Excerpted from infoDev's study of Financing Technology Entrepreneurs and SMEs in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities.

This portion of "Financing Technology Entrepreneurs and SMEs in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities" looks at the financing gap from three different angles:

The constraints faced by firms at different stages of development

As ICT/ICTE firms seek to develop past initial stages, their financing needs evolve; however, in the key stages of development and first expansion, access to financing is difficult.

The financing conditions in the main segments/lines of business

Within the ICT/ICTE sector, different businesses face diverse financing challenges. Specific segments analyzed include (i) software and IT services, (ii) Internet services, (iii) BPO & other ICTE activities, (iv) sale of IT equipment and packaged software, and (v) hardware manufacturing and assembly.

The conditions prevailing in the different countries surveyed

Access to finance varies widely across the ten countries surveyed. Most of the differences reflect the different levels of sophistication of financial systems, but demand-side considerations also play a role.