News
Mar 09, 2020
In 2019, the SME Finance Forum launched its second annual competition of the Global SME Finance Awards competition. The Global SME Finance Awards were created by IFC and the SME Finance Forum to celebrate the exceptional achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in client delivery for SMEs. The awards are endorsed by the G20...
Oct 23, 2019
Gender lens investing is on the rise, with bold initiatives such as the G7’s 2X Challenge led by development finance institutions (DFIs) which has committed to investing $3 billion in businesses that advance gender equality by December 2020. SME Finance Forum member CDC Group is among the DFIs that have signed up to the 2X Challenge and gender...
Oct 01, 2019
Mastercard launched a global effort to pay garment factory workers digitally, a pivot the industry is making from traditional cash payroll to ensure workers receive their hard-earned wages securely and consistently. With industry partners including clothing giants Levi Strauss & Co ., Marks & Spencer and VF Corporation ; and global...
Sep 10, 2019
The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Goldman Sachs on Monday announced the launch of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Ambassadors Programme to help fuel the continued growth of India’s economy through the acceleration of women-owned businesses. Article via The Tribune India. Read more here .
Aug 28, 2019
Vietnam, an emerging market in Southeast Asia is making progress in addressing the issue of gender equality. An International Finance Corporation (IFC) 2017 report on ‘Women-owned enterprises in Vietnam: Perceptions and Potential,’ showed that 57 percent of women-owned businesses in Vietnam are microenterprises, 42 percent are small-medium...
Aug 26, 2019
The first private-sector “gender” bond in the Asia Pacific region to be issued by Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), with the support of IFC and the GoldmanSachs 10,000 Women initiative , to expand access to capital for women entrepreneurs globally. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and DEG (Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) have...
Aug 05, 2019
IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, and Banistmo, a subsidiary of the Bancolombia Group, announce the issuance of the first social gender bond in Latin America, totaling $50 million with a five-year term. Banistmo issues the bond and IDB Invest structures it and buys 100 percent of it.
Aug 01, 2019
Daniel Fah, the co-founder and chair of the Virangana Project, aims to connect disruptive Indian women entrepreneurs seeking to establish themselves in the startup economy with mentors, business services and potential investors in Australia. Questions were answered during a session that was part of the Future Asia Business Summit, which the City...
Jul 22, 2019
S’exprimant lors d’une conférence organisée conjointement par la CGEM et la SFI, membre du Groupe de la Banque mondiale, Qadiri a souligné que l’égalité des sexes contribuera à réduire les disparités hommes-femmes qui existent actuellement et à promouvoir la croissance de l’économie marocaine. Il a, de même, fait observer qu’il a été démontré que...
May 10, 2019
Mastercard is helping share the stories of the women across the U.S. who are contributing over $3 trillion to today’s economy and opening over eighteen hundred businesses every single day. Today the company announced the launch of a national advertising campaign that puts the spotlight on women business owners who are driving impact. Mastercard is...