These funds should help ease one of the most binding constraints on small businesses in Algeria. In the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2018” report, Algeria ranked 177th out of 190 countries for getting credit, down two places on its 2017 score. This was Algeria’s second-lowest position in any category, and below its overall ranking of 166th.

While accessing finance has always been an obstacle for Algerian SMEs, the drying up of excess liquidity in the banking sector has made it more challenging and costly (see Banking chapter). The SME compartment of the local stock market has been open since 2012, but has yet to see its first listing. This could become a viable alternative source of financing for some larger, high-potential SMEs, thereby contributing to the development of the country’s capital markets and economy at large (see Capital Markets chapter). It is hoped that when the governance and financing framework envisaged under Law No. 17-02 is fully up and running, this limited access to finance and other challenges currently facing Algerian SMEs can be tackled more effectively.