The All Africa Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (AAASME) has issued a strong condemnation of the wave of xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks targeting African entrepreneurs and business owners in South Africa — while simultaneously announcing an ambitious expansion into Nairobi, Harare, and Houston as a bold statement of Pan-African solidarity and economic resolve.
The resolutions emerged from the association’s 2026 second-quarter executive committee meeting, and have since been reported by leading Nigerian publications including The Nation and Tribune Online.
Standing Firm Against Afrophobia
The violence currently gripping parts of South Africa — directed at African migrants and their businesses — is not new. But it is no less devastating for its familiarity.
AAASME President, Dr. Ebiekure Jasper Eradiri made the association’s position unequivocal: “The All Africa Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (AAASME) strongly condemns the unfortunate xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks on African businesses by some unscrupulous South Africans in South Africa.”
Dr. Eradiri stressed that regional economic growth must remain a priority above ethnic division and segregation, underscoring that these attacks run directly counter to the shared continental vision of economic integration and mutual prosperity.
The broader context is grave. According to The East African, mobs armed with clubs, machetes, and spears have attacked foreign nationals in Johannesburg and Cape Town, accusing them of taking opportunities meant for locals. Nigeria, Ghana, and Zimbabwe — countries with large diaspora communities in South Africa — have all formally condemned the violence, with diplomatic protests escalating at the highest levels of government. Daily Maverick reported that Nigeria’s Foreign Minister directly called her South African counterpart to demand accountability following the deaths of two Nigerian nationals.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has similarly expressed grave concern, calling on South African authorities to conduct thorough investigations, prosecute perpetrators, and dismantle vigilante groups that have operated with impunity.
Why This Matters for SMEs
African small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the continent’s economies — generating employment, driving trade, and anchoring local communities. When African businesses in South Africa are looted and their owners harassed, the damage extends far beyond lost property: it disrupts supply chains, deters cross-border investment, and signals to entrepreneurs across the continent that the gains of economic integration remain fragile.
AAASME has been a consistent advocate for the role of SMEs in realising the promises of Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These attacks, Dr. Eradiri noted, are “clearly working at cross purposes to Agenda 2063 — #TheAfricaWeWant, AfCFTA, amongst other flagship initiatives of the AU.”
The association urged all SMEs across the continent to remain calm and lawful even in the face of obvious provocation — a call for discipline rooted in the understanding that economic progress requires stable and rule-of-law-based environments, not retaliatory cycles.
AAASME’s Response: Action, Not Just Words
In response to the crisis, AAASME has moved on two fronts simultaneously — advocacy and institutional expansion.
On advocacy, AAASME Regional Vice President, Dr. Shamiso Fred has been directed to issue press releases conveying the association’s formal position and to engage with media across the region. Dr. Fred has also been mandated to establish a special desk office in Harare, Zimbabwe, specifically to document and assess the impact of the xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks on SMEs and micro-businesses operating in or connected to South Africa.
On expansion, the association is pressing ahead with new offices that will extend its footprint and deepen its capacity to serve African entrepreneurs at home and in the diaspora:
– Nairobi, Kenya — AAASME Vice President East Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Mutabazi, has been tasked to liaise with the Youth Envoy to set up the new East African office. AAASME Deputy President, Rose Mboya, Secretariat CEO, Jacinta Kiruthi, and other association leaders will officially declare the office open.
– Harare, Zimbabwe — Beyond its advocacy role, the Harare desk will serve as a permanent regional office strengthening AAASME’s Southern African presence.
– Houston, Texas, USA — Dr. Eradiri has personally confirmed his availability to physically declare the Houston office open, with Vice President Diaspora, Engr. Dadiowei Kingsley Akpeti commended for driving this milestone. The Houston office will serve as a critical anchor for the African diaspora business community in North America.
A Call to Continental Action
Beyond its immediate response, AAASME is calling on African SMEs to look forward. Dr. Eradiri has encouraged all businesses across the continent to participate in Biashara Afrika @ Lomé, Togo — organised by the AfCFTA Secretariat from May 18–20, 2026 — citing the enormous business benefits of deeper intra-African trade engagement.
The message is clear: the answer to forces that seek to divide Africa is to build more bridges, not fewer. Every new office opened, every cross-border partnership forged, every SME that trades across the continent is a vote of confidence in the Africa we want.
Our Position
AAASME was founded on the conviction that African small businesses, working together across borders, can transform this continent. Xenophobia and Afrophobia are direct attacks on that vision. They are attacks not only on individuals and their livelihoods, but on the idea of Pan-African solidarity itself.
We stand firmly with every African entrepreneur who has been targeted, threatened, or displaced. We call on the South African government to accelerate accountability, protect all foreign nationals within its borders, and recommit to the values of the African Union. We call on all African governments to pursue diplomatic solutions with urgency and resolve.
And we call on every AAASME member, every African SME, every business owner on this continent: do not be deterred. The Africa we are building is bigger than the forces that seek to divide us.
Sources: The Nation Newspaper; Tribune Online; The East African; Daily Maverick; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
