Our Perspective
Across Africa, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for nearly 80% of employment, playing a critical role in economic growth and livelihoods. Yet despite their importance, many SMEs continue to face persistent governance challenges. While national regulations often require governance structures such as Boards of Directors, in practice, these are frequently non-functional or ineffective.
Even where boards exist, they often lack the skills and competencies necessary to offer meaningful insight, foresight, and oversight. This gap hinders organisational growth and undermines trust among key stakeholders—financial service providers remain hesitant to offer financing, and potential partners or suppliers may view such businesses as high-risk.
Our Approach
We, at ACLAIM, believe that governance capacity cannot be built overnight. Traditional board training workshops—though helpful—often fall short of delivering sustainable competency transfer and strategic value.
To bridge this gap, we developed Rent A Board, an innovative governance solution tailored for SMEs and NGOs. Rent A Board is an Advisory Board service (non-statutory, with no legal liabilities) designed to support, mentor, and strengthen the governance capacity of organisations over time.
Each Rent A Board engagement includes a carefully selected team of five seasoned professionals, with deep expertise in: Finance; Sales & Marketing; Operations; Strategy; and General Management.
This Advisory Board meets with the client organisation quarterly, delivering hands-on strategic oversight and actionable business insights. Over a period of 2 to 3 years, Rent A Board also mentors and builds the capacity of the organisation’s legal board, enabling it to eventually operate independently and effectively.
Why Choose Rent A Board by ACLAIM Africa Limited?
- Proven experience in organisational governance and transformation;
- Trusted partner to SMEs and NGOs across Africa;
- A holistic, long-term approach to building board capacity; and
- Access to a multidisciplinary team of experts.