SME Support Centre

Name

SME Support Centre

Legal name

SME Support Centre

Website

https://sme-supportcentre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Business Advisory and Support Services

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

SME Lending & Working Capital Platforms (FSAGAJAA), SME Relationship Management & Advisory (Credit, Growth, Succession) (FSABABAJ)

Keywords

• SME business advisory
• Investment readiness services
• SME funding facilitation
• Aggregator platform services
• Development program consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Business & Investment Advisory: High quality business advisory and investment advisory services to SMEs including business planning, pilot testing, partnership support, financial management, investment readiness programs, and transaction advisory
2. Development Programs Consulting: Managing SME programs across Africa on behalf of development agencies, design thinking workshops, innovation competitions
3. Aggregated Services: Aggregator of services including funding services, logistics, advertising, and office representation for overseas SMEs
4. Service Packages (Bonus/Basic/Premium): Registration-based access with BONUS/FREE package, Basic, and Premium tiers with different service levels
5. Fund Advisory Services to Financial Institutions: Pipeline sourcing, de-risking structures, due diligence, technical assistance design, impact measurement, and fund management services for financial institutions
6. SSC Studio Services: Photography, videography, and social media branding services with tiered pricing (Basic KES 5,500, Standard KES 10,500, Premium on quotation)
7. Warehouse Rental: SEZ warehouses at Tatu City (USD 4.5/sqm/month) and non-SEZ units at Silvercoin Business Park Juja (KES 27/sqft + VAT)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

SME Support Centre is an aggregator of African SMEs providing business and investment advisory services, funding facilitation, aggregated trade services (funding, logistics, advertising, overseas office representation), funding fairs, and development program consulting. It also operates the SME Blue Pages directory and SSC Studio (photography/branding) and SSC Warehouses (SEZ and non-SEZ industrial units) as supplementary offerings.

Product overview

SME Support Centre is an aggregator of SMEs in Africa providing a comprehensive suite of advisory and support services. The company operates a platform-plus-services model comprising core advisory offerings (Financial Institution Services, SME Business Advisory, SME Investment Advisory), aggregated services (funding, logistics, advertising, office representation), development programs consulting, and digital portals (Knowledge Base, Funding Opportunities, Tender Opportunities, Trade Events, Funding News). Additional services include SSC Studio (photography/branding), SSC Warehouses (industrial/storage facilities), and Talent Pool recruitment matching. The company focuses on African SMEs with services designed to be simple, localized, and sustainable.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SSC Studio: Professional photography, videography, and social media branding services for brands
• SSC Warehouses

Products and services

• Financial Institution Services Enterprise service for commercial banks, SACCOs, MFIs, insurance companies, private funds, and private wealth providers to enable them to serve SMEs. Includes pipeline sourcing, de-risking structures, fund rationale design, due diligence, technical assistance program design, product refinement, impact measurement frameworks, and fund management services.
• Funding Fairs Curated funding events in Kenya and across Africa connecting SMEs with investor clubs, chambers of commerce, and private capital providers. Includes partnership support, event planning and management, and deal room management.
• SME Business Advisory Business advisory services for SMEs including pilot testing for new products, business model review workshops, business plan development with financial projections, partnership support, and financial management support services.
• SME Investment Advisory Investment advisory services for SMEs including investment readiness programs, transaction advisory (pitch reviews, structuring, document preparation, investor introductions, term sheet negotiations, financial close support), and development of grant proposals.
• Aggregated Services Aggregator platform providing SMEs access to funding briefs from private sector lenders, discounted logistics services, discounted advertising services, and overseas office representation for international business development.
• Development Programs Consulting Consulting programs for donors and development agencies providing business development services and fund management to SMEs. Includes SME program management, innovation campaign management, and design thinking workshops.
• SSC Studio Professional photography, videography, and social media branding services for SMEs. Offers social media branding packages (logo design, templates, content calendar, brand guides, stationary design) and photography/videography packages (high-quality images, promotional short form videos, behind the scenes and YouTube content).
• SSC Warehouses Warehouse facilities including SEZ warehouses at Kifaru Exim Special Economic Zone in Tatu City and non-SEZ industrial units at Silvercoin Business Park in Juja. Also includes cold chain solutions through partnership with Cold Solutions Kenya for clients in logistics, manufacturing, and distribution sectors.
• Talent Pool Matchmaking service connecting skilled individuals with SMEs within the SSC membership. Facilitates recruitment for roles including intern/junior staff, social media managers, accountants, and sales agents.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ SMEs supported across Africa
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• African Guarantee Fund (AGF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner for guarantee and de-risking solutions enabling financial institutions to serve SMEs. Joint webinar series and WSME Acceleration Program with NCBA.
• UNDPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner supporting SME ecosystem development initiatives in Africa.
• Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on Greenbiz Mentorship Programme for climate technologies and innovative business models.
• CABS - Central Africa Building SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AfDB for WSME financial literacy and access to finance program in Zimbabwe reaching 1,000 women-led SMEs.
• NCBA BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint implementation of AFAWA WSMEs Acceleration Program targeting women-led enterprises in agri-food value chain with goal to unlock USD 5 million in financing.
• AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFDB initiative partnered with NCBA and SSC for women SME acceleration program addressing access to finance gap for women entrepreneurs.
• Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for Legacy Connect program alongside Mastercard Foundation.
• World University Service of Canada (WUSC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivered business development services to refugee-led MSEs in Nairobi through DREEM Innovation Fund.
• Reserve Bank of MalawimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner for World Bank-funded FInES Project delivering financial literacy to 20,000+ MSMEs.
• Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for enterprise development support for Kenyan CSOs including business planning and mentorship.
• Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting KCV portfolio SMEs in 5 counties with sales plan development and actualization.
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to enhance capacity of women enterprises in dairy and camel meat value chains in Marsabit and Isiolo (ASAL regions).
• Conservation InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Project TWENDE for enterprise and market development in honey value chain for drought-affected communities.
• Unilever KenyamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint implementation of Emerge Supplier Acceleration Program for women and PWD-led MSMEs to become Unilever suppliers.
• KEPSAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivered training and mentorship program impacting nearly 10,000 SMEs with Mastercard.
• Africa 118majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Digital Sponsorship Project providing digital tools and expertise to 3,000+ SMEs across 6 African countries.
• Cold Solutions KenyaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCold chain solutions partnership providing discounted rates from farm to market for SSC warehouse clients.
• Kifaru Exim SEZmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to source, select, and recruit SMEs into Tatu City Special Economic Zone for manufacturing and export.
• Unga Group PlcmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NCBA AFAWA WSMEs Acceleration Program in agri-food value chain.
• MERU GREENS EPZ LIMITEDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnchor corporate partner for GIZ young ventures acceleration program in agribusiness.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Regional players

• Africa118: Africa118 is an African SME digital directory and digital sponsorship platform. It is a regional peer given its partnership with SSC on the Digital Sponsorship Project, directly comparable in SME visibility and digital enablement services.

Direct peers

• Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF): TEF runs one of Africa's largest entrepreneurship programs, providing training, mentoring, and seed capital to African entrepreneurs. It is a direct peer given its parallel focus on capacity building, investment readiness, and pan-African SME ecosystem development.
• Sinapis: Sinapis runs entrepreneurship accelerator programs in East Africa combining business training, mentorship, and access to capital. It is directly comparable to SSC's SME training, mentorship, and investment readiness offerings targeting early-stage African entrepreneurs.
• Grofin: Grofin provides financing and business support to small and growing businesses across Africa and the Middle East. Like SME Support Centre, it combines advisory with access to capital for SMEs in underserved markets, making it a direct peer in the African SME support ecosystem.
• AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund): AECF provides concessional finance and business development support to innovative SMEs in Africa. It is a direct peer because both organizations channel donor and DFI funding toward African SME growth, combining capital facilitation with advisory services.
• African Management Institute (AMI): AMI delivers business and management training programs to African SMEs and entrepreneurs. It is directly comparable because both organizations focus on building SME capacity, often in partnership with corporates and development institutions across Africa.

Broad incumbents

• IFC SME Toolkit: IFC's SME Toolkit provides free business management resources and training for SMEs globally. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with SSC's knowledge base, templates, and business advisory content targeting SMEs.
• FSD Africa: FSD Africa is a UK-funded development organization working on financial sector development across the continent. It is a broad incumbent because, like SSC, it funds SME finance initiatives and partners with banks and DFIs, though at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• Village Capital: Village Capital runs peer-selected investment-readiness programs for impact-focused SMEs, including in Africa. Comparable in its use of cohort-based capacity building and investor matchmaking for SMEs.
• Mettā (formerly Nailab): Mettā is an African innovation hub and investor network connecting entrepreneurs with capital and corporate partners. It is comparable as an emerging SME support and investment-readiness player with overlapping investor matchmaking activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smesupport_ke
• Facebookfacebook.com/SMESupportCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sme-support-centre-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/smesupport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SME Support Centre