SME Finance Forum

SME Finance Forum's immersion program: Visit to Yillion Bank, a new digital-first bank in the West

Lechi Zhang

Jul 24, 2019

China's banking industry has traditionally been dominated by state-owned financial institutions. Even the smaller banks have roots going back to provincial or municipal governments. In recent years, however, Beijing has started to issue banking licences to private players. A new kind of digital-first bank, sometimes referred to as a 'neobank' in the West, has quickly emerged in China. Yillion Bank is one of it and is the only one...

BBVA: Reinventing Banking as a Digital Business

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...

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

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...

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

Marie-Sarah Chataing

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...

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

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...

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

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...

Member Engagement Awards 2017

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...

Digitization of SME Finance Is a Win-Win for All

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...

Choosing the Right AI Underwriting System – 4 Steps to Success

Patrick Reily

Sep 18, 2017

As SME lenders, we face the challenge of satisfying simultaneous objectives — shareholder return, borrower empowerment, economic development and financial inclusion — all within regulatory compliance. Even the most capable underwriters struggle to do all of these well, especially all at the same time. The top Fintech/AI underwriting systems...

The Essential Ingredients for Financial Inclusion

Matt Gamser

Sep 06, 2017

Technology and mobile penetration have revolutionised access to finance. The mobile phone, and the ability to transfer money digitally has helped give millions access to financial services. The phones have become ‘financial receptacles’ that can be used to perform safe and secure transactions giving people access wherever they are. However, access...

Ishenim, CreditInfo Partner on Shareholder Agreement

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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