Although environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is fairly well documented among listed companies, there continues to be a severe lack of data around sustainability practices of privately-owned businesses in general, particularly of small and medium-enterprises (SMEs). In Africa for example, up to 80% of economic activity on the continent is carried out by the unlisted/informal sector with SMEs accounting for over four-fifths of total production, two-thirds of total investment, and three-fourths of total credit to the economy, and employs 90 % of the employed working age population.

There is an internationally recognized gap of effectively including SMEs into systematic efforts to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) yet the impact of their aggregated participation could have an exponential chance of positive impact.

Kudos One are establishing an index of such activities for the SME sector which would prove invaluable for companies, investors, and development agencies in planning, risk management, due diligence, and performance enhancement activities.

Pulse publications

We’ve also written extensively on the financial benefits of active ESG engagement. Please download these publications for extensive research and case studies.