Our History
A pan-African platform serving the competitiveness of African SMEs.
Our History
A vision. An ambition. A story in motion.
Since 2015, the Banks and SME Expo (SBPME) has accompanied the economic transformations of West Africa. More than an expo, it has become a platform for dialogue, innovation and partnership bringing together SMEs, banks, investors, public authorities and development partners. Each edition answers a major challenge. Each innovation enriches a model devoted to the competitiveness of African SMEs.
Making the SME a driver of growth
Theme« The SME, engine of UEMOA growth »
The SBPME was founded on a conviction: there can be no sustainable growth without strong SMEs. This founding edition established a dialogue platform between banks, financial institutions, investors, public authorities and SMEs, while adopting the principle of a rotating organization among UEMOA member states. It also launched the Employment and Business Creation Coaching Space and the PME Awards, designed to honour entrepreneurs, institutions and initiatives contributing to SME development.
Daring to compete
Theme« SMEs facing the demands of global competitiveness »
The SBPME becomes a regional platform for economic cooperation. The challenge is no longer simply to create businesses, but to make them competitive. The UEMOA SME Caravan enables companies to travel across the sub-region with their products, discover new markets and build lasting business relationships.
Reforming to better build businesses
Theme« Reforms for innovative and high-performing SMEs »
A high-performing economy rests on a favourable environment. The SBPME focuses on reforms, improving the business climate and public-private dialogue. The first Company Visits bring business leaders closer to on-the-ground realities and encourage the sharing of experience.
"SMEs, go digital… or risk disappearing"
Theme« The SME in the digital age »
Long before digital transformation became a global necessity, the SBPME sent a strong message to African entrepreneurs: "SMEs, go digital… or risk disappearing." The Master Classes, SME Networking and the Business Club Manager (BCM) laid the foundations of a new digital culture that proved decisive during the health crisis.
Development begins in the territories
Theme« SMEs and local economic development »
The SBPME reminds us that an SME is first and foremost rooted in a locality. Developing SMEs means first developing municipalities, cities, regions and territories. SME Networking evolves into Innovative Project, dedicated to supporting innovative projects and connecting them with investors.
Innovating in the face of crisis
Theme« Intra-community trade amid security and health crises »
Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBPME showed resilience by creating the SME Campuses and organizing a hybrid edition, both in person and online, bringing together more than 2,000 participants from 15 countries.
Transforming African economies
Theme« Transformation of African economies »
Debates focused on post-crisis economic recovery, industrialization, the green economy, the transformation of economies and the role of SMEs in creating sustainable jobs. The return to in-person events marked a new dynamic. The SBPME launched CAP PME, the SME Network and the Exhibition Villages to strengthen support for businesses and accelerate their contribution to the continent's development.
Investing to accelerate transformation
Theme« Financing SMEs amid crises and economic change »
The Expo focuses on financing productive investment, Special Economic Zones, public-private partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms. The strategic Round Tables become a major forum for dialogue between states, banks and investors.
Preparing SMEs for the continental market
Theme« Supporting professional associations and organizations »
The SBPME strengthens professional organizations to better support SMEs in seizing the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It confirms its role as the region's reference platform for SME financing, support and competitiveness.
SMEs at the heart of sustainable development
Bissau – Guinea-Bissau
Theme« Sustainable Development Goals and structural transformation »
The SBPME completes its tour of the eight UEMOA member states. This edition highlights the contribution of SMEs to inclusive growth, sustainable transition and the structural transformation of African economies.
Eleven editions of impact, a vision for tomorrow
Ouagadougou – Burkina Faso
Theme« Synergies and innovative support and financing mechanisms for SMEs to build Africa's economic and food sovereignty »
After eleven editions, the SBPME opens a new development cycle. It adopts its 2026-2035 Strategic Vision, launches the SME Dialogues and evolves the PME Awards into the Super PME Awards, celebrating economic champions, institutions of excellence and the most innovative initiatives. This edition also affirms the ambition of an SBPME open to the whole continent.
A new story begins
Conakry – Republic of Guinea
For the first time, the SBPME is organized outside the UEMOA space thanks to a strategic partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts of Guinea (CCIAG). This edition inaugurates the continental deployment of the SBPME, in line with the 2026-2035 Vision, the AfCFTA and Simandou 2040.
More than an expo, a movement
For more than a decade, the SBPME has anticipated economic change, brought finance closer to businesses and built an African ecosystem of innovation, investment and cooperation. Its story is measured not only by the number of editions organized, but by the thousands of entrepreneurs, institutions and partners it has connected to help build a more competitive, more integrated and more prosperous Africa.