Library
Apr 12, 2019
Caple, an alternative credit specialist and BTG Advisory are partnering to help SMEs obtain unsecured lending. According to the article, the loans Caple facilitates are part of BNP Paribas Asset Management’s SME Alternative Financing direct lending platform. BNP Paribas is a SME Finance Forum member. SMEs will benefit from unsecured debt finance...
Apr 11, 2019
Since 2014, in order to better serve low-income women in Sub-Saharan Africa with financial products, Women’s World Banking and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), an initiative funded by the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID), have partnered to build the capacity of leading financial institutions in Nigeria, Tanzania and...
Apr 10, 2019
It is important for all stakeholders to take action to deliver the significant benefits of mobile and the internet to women, their families, communities and the economy. Mobile can help empower women, making them more connected, safe and able to access information and services. Closing the mobile gender gap also represents a significant commercial...
Apr 10, 2019
SME Finance Forum member OPIC has provided a $5 million loan to BRAC Myanmar Microfinance Company Limited, also a member, to support lending to poor and underserved borrowers. “One of the most effective ways to empower the people of Myanmar is to help them access financial services so they can start and grow businesses, increase their earnings and...
Apr 09, 2019
The report is the most comprehensive assessment so far of the potential global market for impact investing. It estimates that as much as $269 trillion—the financial assets held by institutions and households across the world—is potentially available for investment. Channeling just 10 percent of this amount into projects focused on improving social...
Apr 09, 2019
Interview with Terrence Teoh, SME banking head at Hong Leong Bank, recently named the best SME bank in Malaysia by The Asian Banker. “For SMEs to expand, it is not only funding that is important,” said Terrence Teoh, the head of group SME banking at Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB). “Of course funding matters, but on top of that, how you collect your...
Apr 09, 2019
Washington, D.C. April 9, 2019 – Social Development Bank (SDB) became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. “200 million businesses worldwide...
Apr 08, 2019
SME Finance Forum CEO, Matthew Gamser, recently explained why the G20 cares about financial inclusion (and has since its inception), and why SME access to finance always has been included in its work on inclusion. Gamser offered these insights at a plenary talk at the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) Ministerial Roundtable. "I spoke...
Apr 08, 2019
Egyptian women who constitute half of the population, represent tremendous economic potential, while contributing to only 22.5 percent of total labor force - offer an estimated credit demand of USD283 million among female-owned SMEs. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has achieved major accomplishments towards building an inclusive financial system...
Apr 08, 2019
Member OPIC continues to make an impact in closing the SME finance Gap where it's needed most. In this letter to the editor for Myanmar Times, Scot Marciel, U.S. ambassador to Myanmar speaks on how OPIC continues to invest in Myanmar. Marciel says, "Two years ago OPIC committed financing to its first microfinance project in Myanmar, to help...