For development professionals focused on financing small business growth, understanding value drivers and how financial institutions invest in SMEs can offer valuable lessons for application in the developing world. This session, led by Mr. de Mojana, will explore how value creation can boost innovation and growth, particularly in finance-constrained regions. He will discuss the characteristics of a robust financial system that can support dynamic and competitive SMEs and provide insights on applying these models to developing economies.

Background:
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in driving economic growth and fostering bottom-up development worldwide. These businesses, led by local entrepreneurs and workers, are often more formal and employ more people than micro- enterprises, yet they still face challenges such as weak governance, limited management capacity, and restricted access to markets and financial services. In Europe, SMEs make up over 99% of all businesses, with nearly 23 million enterprises employing around 100 million people, accounting for two-thirds of total employment. SMEs are integral to economic resilience and innovation, making access to finance—through well-functioning banking systems, venture capital, and supportive public policies—essential for their sustained growth.

In Africa, SMEs contribute up to 60% of employment and 40% of GDP in some countries, while in Latin America, they represent over 90% of businesses and are responsible for around 70% of employment. Asia’s economic landscape is similarly dominated by SMEs, which make up more than 95% of all enterprises and employ a significant portion of the workforce, particularly in countries like China, India, and Southeast Asia. These businesses are vital for economic development, innovation, and poverty reduction.
Speaker: 

Francesco de Mojana, Founder and CEO of Buono Ventures Holding

Mr. de Mojana is a private equity and financial sector professional with a growth focused approach to value creation. He is Founder and CEO of Buono Ventures Holding, an Italian-based investment firm focused on supporting emerging businesses and brands with equity and sector expertise. Previously, he was a partner at Permira, one of the world’s largest European private equity firms from January 2004 until December 2018, where he was involved in a over 1.5 billion Euro of investments in the consumer and digital consumer space. From 2002 until 2004 he was the Co-founder and COO of a software knowledge management solution company later sold to Telefonica Group, and from 1997 until 2000 he was at McKinsey & Company in London and Milan. He is currently a member of the board of directors of several private companies in the consumer space. Mr. de Mojana holds a B.A in International Economics from Università Bocconi in Milan, and an MBA from Columbia University Business School in New York.