The African Guarantee Fund’s (AGF) chief executive Felix Bikpo talks about their strategy to assist SMEs. Stating the main problem for SMEs as access to finance, Bikpo says their guarantee facility assists financial institutions in covering the risks often associated with SMEs financing. AGF’s activities have improved the SME sector in recent years. Today, AFG is in nearly 40 African countries through almost 100 financial institutions. The percentage of loans to SMEs has significantly improved as well. “It’s helped us to go from 3,000 to 11,000 SMEs having access to financing on the continent,” says Bikpo. The executive also speaks about future plans to enter the agriculture market and the newly integrated Guarantee Fund for Private Investments in Africa (GARI) following a $35m acquisition.