Empowering SMEs through advanced financial analytics: The key to economic growth

Across Africa, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of economic activity. From Lagos to Nairobi and Accra to Johannesburg, these businesses create jobs, fuel innovation, and serve as key drivers of inclusive growth. Yet, despite their critical role, many African SMEs face persistent financial instability, largely due to limited financial planning capacity, poor access to credit, and the absence of reliable data systems.

In an increasingly data-driven world, advanced financial analytics has emerged as a powerful tool to tackle these challenges head-on. But for many entrepreneurs, the concept remains abstract, often buried beneath technical jargon and expensive software subscriptions. This is where the work of Marry Motunrayo Awosika becomes not just relevant, but revolutionary.

A seasoned accountant and financial advisor, Awosika has dedicated her career to equipping African SMEs with the skills and tools they need to thrive financially. Her approach goes beyond spreadsheets—it empowers business owners with insight. “Financial analytics should not be viewed as a luxury for large corporations. It is a survival tool for small businesses navigating complex markets,” she insists.

At its core, financial analytics involves using data models, automation, and predictive techniques to make sense of a company’s financial health. For African SMEs, many of whom operate on tight margins in volatile economies, this can mean the difference between growth and closure.

Through her advisory work, Marry Awosika has introduced dozens of SMEs to practical financial tools that are both accessible and effective. From helping agro-processors in Nigeria improve their inventory cycles to enabling fashion retailers in Ghana to model seasonal revenue, her impact has been quietly transformative.

One Lagos-based logistics firm struggling with cash flow fluctuations sought Awosika’s help in 2022. By applying data analytics to the firm’s income streams, cost patterns, and customer payment behaviours, Awosika helped restructure its credit policy and working capital model. “Within six months, they moved from a negative cash position to consistent monthly surpluses,” she recounts. “It wasn’t magic—it was data and discipline.”

Indeed, one of her central arguments is that financial resilience begins with financial literacy. Many African SMEs still operate informally, tracking transactions by memory or manual ledgers. Awosika doesn’t criticise this reality; she contextualises it. But she also pushes for a transition. “Data literacy and access to financial dashboards are not elite skills. They must be integrated into how African businesses think and operate daily,” she explains.

Beyond individual businesses, there are broader policy implications. Most SME support programmes across Africa focus on access to finance: loans, grants, or tax incentives. While useful, these measures often miss the point if SMEs lack the capacity to deploy funds strategically. Empowering entrepreneurs to analyse, plan, and forecast their finances should be at the heart of national economic policy.

In countries like Kenya and South Africa, mobile-based financial platforms have taken root, providing a digital foundation. But adoption is only one piece of the puzzle. As Awosika often says, “Technology is not a solution if people don’t know how to use it to solve real business problems.” This is why she has initiated financial analytics clinics for SMEs, where she demystifies tools like cash flow modelling, cost analysis, and performance dashboards.

Awosika also encourages governments and development partners to go beyond traditional training models. “We need to embed analytics thinking into entrepreneurship education, vocational programmes, and even microfinance onboarding.” She argues that data-driven thinking should be as fundamental to an entrepreneur as customer service or marketing.

The impact of such thinking is profound. Businesses become more agile, better equipped to handle shocks, and more attractive to investors. During the COVID-19 crisis, for instance, SMEs that had already implemented analytics tools with her guidance were able to model worst-case scenarios and plan for survival. Others, lacking such insight, struggled to pivot.

In truth, Africa’s economic future will not be determined by the scale of government interventions or the volume of foreign aid. It will rest on the continent’s ability to build smart, resilient, and data-savvy businesses. That’s what makes Mary Motunrayo Awosika’s work both timely and urgent.

Her message is clear: analytics is not just about numbers; it’s about foresight, strategy, and control. In an African context, where volatility is a daily reality, giving SMEs control over their financial destiny is one of the most impactful steps toward inclusive and sustained economic growth.

As more African countries look to deepen local enterprise development, integrating financial analytics into the DNA of SME ecosystems may well be the key to unlocking a more resilient and prosperous future.