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Microfinance Institutions vs. COVID-19: The Real Asset Lies in the Global Networks

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Celine Bteish
Marie-Sarah Chataing
Jul 08, 2020
A virtual roundtable summary.
 
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create new challenges for MSMEs, global microfinance networks have been forced to rethink their approaches to microfinance and supporting SME clients. The...
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SME policy response speed, critical to economic recovery

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Jessica Alfaro

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Gillette Conner

May 13, 2020
A webinar recap The SME Finance Forum hosted a webinar in partnership with the OECD to launch their new report, Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2020 : An OECD Scoreboard. This OECD flagship publication, now in its ninth edition, tracks developments for 47+ countries around the world. Opening the webinar via video, Angel Gurría , the Secretary-...
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GPFI Seminar - Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs - Riyad

GPFI Seminar - Digital Financial Inclusion for Youth, Women and SMEs - Riyad

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Matt Gamser

Jan 23, 2020
It was my great pleasure to be asked to contribute to this seminar, which is kicking off the Saudi G20 presidency’s work on financial inclusion on 22 January 2020, in Ryad. The purpose of the seminar is to bring together experts, policymakers, scholars, businesses and more to share insights, as the presidency dives into producing high level calls...
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JD Finance Gives 17 SME Finance Experts an Inside Look at their Operations

JD Finance Gives 17 SME Finance Experts an Inside Look at their Operations

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Carmen Smith

Jun 21, 2019
From agribusiness to capital markets, JD Digits has been a leading ecosystem player to bring automation, robotics and artificial intelligence to a wide range of industries. SME Finance Forum members had an opportunity to learn about JD Digits during the Forum's second immersion program to JD Finance, the company that manages the service, on June...
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Out with Old. New Ecosystem of Digital Financial Services Support SMEs Growth for SDGs

Out with Old. New Ecosystem of Digital Financial Services Support SMEs Growth for SDGs

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Carmen Smith

May 01, 2019
Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum, was the keynote speaker at the United Nations Secretary-General's Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Gamser led a policy discussion on innovative mechanisms to finance MSMEs at the UN's headquarters alongside experts from Visa, Milken Institute and KIVA. SMEs...
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Complementing Finance with Know-How for Women in Business

Complementing Finance with Know-How for Women in Business

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Ines Rocha

Mar 08, 2019
At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), we believe that complex inequalities need wide-ranging responses. This is why in 2014, the EBRD launched an ambitious new approach to support the financial and economic inclusion of women. Since then, the Women in Business programme has reached more than 50,000 women entrepreneurs...
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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...
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SME Finance Forum CEO Keynotes ADFIMI International Development Forum

SME Finance Forum CEO Keynotes ADFIMI International Development Forum

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

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

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Marie-Sarah Chataing

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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

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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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Ishenim, CreditInfo Partner on Shareholder Agreement

Ishenim, CreditInfo Partner on Shareholder Agreement

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Fabrizio Fraboni

Aug 03, 2017
On June 29, 2017, the Kyrgyz Republic’s Credit Information Bureau “Ishenim” and Iceland-based CreditInfo Solutions commemorated the beginning of a strategic and technical partnership in a landmark shareholder agreement signing ceremony. This fundamental occasion marked an important milestone in the World Bank Group’s Azerbaijan and Central Asia...
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