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BRAC Bank: SMEs Are Not Just Another Business Opportunity, They Are A Reason for Being

BRAC Bank: SMEs Are Not Just Another Business Opportunity, They Are A Reason for Being

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Nadia Afrin
Oct 03, 2018

BRAC Bank was established in 2001 to help grow the vital, yet unbanked SME sector in Bangladesh. The bank’s reason for being is to serve SMEs; with 186 bank branches, 2,500 specialized SME staff and the provision of more than 60 percent of the collateral-free SME loans in Bangladesh, the bank is doing exactly that. 

The overall lending to SMEs by BRAC Bank reached 41 percent of the total loan book at the end of 2017, an increase...

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BRAC Bank: SMEs Are Not Just Another Business Opportunity, They Are A Reason for Being

BRAC Bank: SMEs Are Not Just Another Business Opportunity, They Are A Reason for Being

by 

Nadia Afrin

Oct 03, 2018
BRAC Bank was established in 2001 to help grow the vital, yet unbanked SME sector in Bangladesh. The bank’s reason for being is to serve SMEs; with 186 bank branches, 2,500 specialized SME staff and the provision of more than 60 percent of the collateral-free SME loans in Bangladesh, the bank is doing exactly that. The overall lending to SMEs by...
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SME Finance Forum CEO Keynotes ADFIMI International Development Forum

SME Finance Forum CEO Keynotes ADFIMI International Development Forum

by 

Carmen Smith

Sep 24, 2018
Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum, was the keynote speaker at the ADFIMI International Development Forum on September 11-12 in Istanbul, Turkey. Under the theme, “SME Finance and Development in the Age of Digitalization,” the Forum analyzed the current state of knowledge about contributions of SMEs to economic and social well-being...
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Study Tours: Learning Best SME Finance Practices

Study Tours: Learning Best SME Finance Practices

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Carmen Smith

Sep 19, 2018
Networks such as the SME Finance Forum exist so that direct practitioners can learn from one other and offer effective models to strengthen the industry. Study tours are one of the most effective ways to provide hands-on learning experiences for professionals. This November, the SME Finance Forum will kick off its Global SME Finance Forum 2018...
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BBVA: Reinventing Banking as a Digital Business

BBVA: Reinventing Banking as a Digital Business

by 

Nadia Afrin

Sep 07, 2018
BBVA is Spain’s second largest bank and an innovative global financial group that provides financial services in more than 30 countries to 72 million customers, of which SMEs is a very important client segment. In recent years, the bank has reinvented itself as a digital business, and it aims to be as nimble as a fintech. BBVA is recognized within...
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Bank of Palestine: Aiming to be the “Bank of Choice” for Women and Small Businesses

Bank of Palestine: Aiming to be the “Bank of Choice” for Women and Small Businesses

by 

Nadia Afrin

Aug 22, 2018
Bank of Palestine was established in 1960 to serve Palestinians of all socio-economic groups. With a network of 70 branches, 31 percent market share of deposits, 33 percent market share of loans and more than 890,000 customers, the bank serves retail, corporate, small and medium enterprises, microenterprises, and the Palestinian diaspora. The bank...
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How Is Ant Financial Closing the SME Finance Gap in China?

How Is Ant Financial Closing the SME Finance Gap in China?

by 

Marie-Sarah Chataing

by 

Khrystyna Kushnir

Jun 07, 2018
There are over 11 million formal SMEs in China and 58% of them are financially constraint according to the MSME Finance Gap 2017 . The size of the finance gap is 17% of GDP. Digital and mobile banking opened new opportunities for affordable finance for China’s entrepreneurs by decreasing transaction cost of making a loan. According to the Global...
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A Better Way to Finance SMEs: A Global Network Offers Solutions

A Better Way to Finance SMEs: A Global Network Offers Solutions

by 

Matt Gamser

May 25, 2018
Why must we do better in financing small business? It’s probably not necessary to tell this readership group that we really should care about small businesses. Not because there’s anything especially great about being small, but because they are engines of job creation and economic growth. We want them to grow! 9 out of 10 new jobs worldwide are...
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Five Win $1000 Tickets to the Global SME Finance Forum 2018 in Madrid this November!

Five Win $1000 Tickets to the Global SME Finance Forum 2018 in Madrid this November!

by 

Carmen Smith

May 22, 2018
Thank you for helping the SME Finance Forum LinkedIn discussion group reach 10,000 members. From May 14-16, members entered the raffle to win a complimentary ticket to the Global SME Finance Forum 2018. Below are the winners! Congratulations: Monisha Hermans - Consultant - Philippines Jacqueline Urquizo – Sygoes - USA Mercyline Njoroge – Proparco...
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Member Engagement Awards 2017

Member Engagement Awards 2017

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Carmen Smith

Dec 01, 2017
The SME Finance Forum recognized 10 of its 134 member organizations on November 2 at our annual gathering in Berlin. The first Membership Engagement Awards recognized members that have strengthened its global network in three categories: 1. Best Contributor, 2. Best Participant and 3. Best Partnership. The recipients were: Best Contributor Best...
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Digitization of SME Finance Is a Win-Win for All

Digitization of SME Finance Is a Win-Win for All

by 

Matt Gamser

Sep 28, 2017
Globally, access to finance remains one of the most significant constraints to the growth, productivity and even survival of SMEs – and to the critical jobs they create. The SME credit gap is both a demand and supply side problem. On the demand side, many SMEs cannot get access to credit because bankers cannot see the critical information they...
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