Access to financing is the main constraint faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa. Three reasons keep the traditional players ? banks, investment funds, and development finance institutions ? away from this market: a mistakenly high risk perception, high transaction costs, and the difficulty of adequately collateralizing loans. Improving the financing of small and medium-sized businesses mainly depends on whether the private sector is able to develop financial systems that are better suited to the local business environment. Adapting microfinance principles to financing of SMEs may hold promise, and likewise, developing credit products that allow lenders to be better secured, or, alternatively, encouraging guarantee funds would certainly also help improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.