News
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...
Mar 19, 2019
SME Finance Forum member Ecobank recently shared information about their Female Entrepreneurs Initiative. Managing Director Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan said, “Increasingly, we are seeing the change in the attitudes of women, and their economic viability as individuals and leaders in their fields. Their banking and financial services as a...
Jan 28, 2019
Proshare shared results of the Development Bank of Nigeria, that hosted a year-to-date business presentation on its activities since inception. Those results include N31.364bn Spent in 2018 on MSMEs and 35,000 MSMEs End-Borrowers Benefitted in 2018, among other accomplishments. Established in 2017 the Development Bank of Nigeria is regulated by...
Jan 17, 2019
SME Finance Forum member, The European Investment Bank (EIB), is lending EUR 22.3m to Garanti Bank Romania to support businesses in Romania. EUR 5m of the loan amount is devoted to female entrepreneurs, matched by another EUR 5m from Garanti Bank. This transaction is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial...
Jan 02, 2019
SME Finance Forum member, the European Investment Bank (EIB), signed a new loan with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation “to further boost female economic inclusion and empowerment across the country.” Accordingly, the EIB will provide a €30 million long term loan to the Ethiopia Women Entrepreneurship Development Project (...
Dec 26, 2018
SME Finance Forum member Gulf African Bank has signed a deal to finance women in the mining industry. The lender is partnering with the Association of Women in Energy and Extractives Kenya (AWEIK). Under the partnership, women who are interested in supplying items to mining industry players will submit their invoices to the mining, oil and gas...
Dec 03, 2018
SME Finance Forum member MEKAR, has been listed by KPMG as one of the top 10 lenders changing market. MEKAR was the earliest of P2P lenders in Indonesia. MEKAR, though maybe not the largest total volume of loans, is unique in serving the small “unbanked” businesses in the farthest parts of Indonesia. It has some of the safest loans, and probably...
Nov 26, 2018
WEConnect International, a global network of corporations committed to sourcing goods and services from women suppliers, signed an agreement to boost access to markets for women-owned small and medium enterprises in emerging markets. The agreement is IFC’s first active partnership supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative , or We-Fi...
Nov 21, 2018
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is increasing access to SME finance in Lao PDR by fostering a business enabling environment and developing market solutions for serving SMEs. According to the release, SMEs make up 99 percent of total enterprises and over 80 percent of the workforce, however they are confronted with a financing gap of $1.2...
Nov 21, 2018
SME Finance Forum member Diamond Bank was awarded the Women’s Market Champion award from the Global Banking Alliance for Women. Diamond Bank was chosen for its outstanding impact on women development and for providing them with holistic solutions that meet their needs, according to the article. “This award lends credence to the work that Diamond...