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Her Fintech Edge
Gender Finance
Fintech
Fintech and digital financial services have been considered a game-changer for women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment. Until now, there has been limited research that quantifies the degree to which fintech firms are actively addressing women's financial inclusion and the specific strategies that are showing success. To fill this gap...
EmpowerHer: Stories from the SME Finance Forum’s WEF CoP
Financial Education
Financial Inclusion
Alternative Financing
Gender Finance
Youth Entrepreneurship
The Forum established the Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance CoP (WEF CoP) Practice for groups of practitioners from member institutions to meet and share experiences, seek solutions to challenges that they face in financing women-SMEs. Since launching in 2022, the WEF CoP has evolved into a powerful example of how to empower women entrepreneurs...
MTN and JUMO Combine Platform Capabilities to Redefine Accessible Lending in South Africa
Alternative Financing
Digital Transformation
Fintech
Johannesburg, 6 February 2024 – MTN’s Mobile Money Platform, MoMo, and banking technology company JUMO have partnered to launch Qwikloan, which offers affordable, short-term loans in South Africa and will drive financial inclusion across the country. Qwikloan enables MoMo users to obtain small, short-term loans on their mobile phones, ranging from...
Addressing Financial and Digital Literacy Challenges for Inclusive Finance: insights from Microfinance Institutions and FinTech Organisations.
Financial Education
Financial Inclusion
Fintech
This paper investigates strategies of European microfinance institutions (MFIs) and inclusive FinTech organisations to address financial and digital illiteracy among vulnerable customers. It reveals that both MFIs and FinTech organisations focus on personalised financial education, training and coaching but adopt distinct strategies in their...
Inclusive Fintech Funding in Times of Uncertainty: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead
Sustainable Finance
Fintech
Slowing economic growth, rising inflation, and climbing interest rates are straining the business models for inclusive fintechs, creating significant uncertainty and new funding challenges. For the past four years, the Inclusive Fintech 50 (IF50) global innovation competition identified and elevated cutting-edge, emerging inclusive fintechs...
Fair and Accessible Credit for Small Businesses: A Guidebook for Financial Institutions
Alternative Financing
Uplinq Financial Technologies , the first global credit decisioning support platform for small business lenders, announced the publication of “ Fair and Accessible Credit for Small Businesses: A Guidebook for Financial Institutions ,” a white paper that blueprints how banks and credit unions can leverage AI technology and alternative data to...
Zenith Bank, a leading Nigerian commercial bank, joins the SME Finance Forum
Financial Inclusion
Washington D.C, January 31, 2024 – Nigeria’s Zenith Bank has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest member. The 240+ members of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and...
SME Finance Forum Member Services for Q1 and Q2 2024
The SME Finance Forum membership network consists of more than 240 member institutions active in 190 countries . The network is a unique community of SME-oriented commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions, fintech companies, and development finance institutions. UPCOMING EVENTS - Q1 and Q2 2024
Data-invisible groups and data minimization in the deployment of AI solutions: policy brief
Digital Transformation
With the rapid advancements in computational power, the decades-long vision of using and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) has become a reality. The technology’s swift development has allowed it to transform every walk of life, as it is a wide-ranging tool that enables people to rethink how to analyze data, integrate information and use the...
AccèsBanque Madagascar, a leading financial institution in the region, joins the SME Finance Forum
Financial Inclusion
Washington D.C, January 18, 2024 – AccèsBanque Madagascar has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest member. The 240+ members of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and...
Leader Dialogue Series - Interview with Michael Jongeneel – CEO - FMO
Sustainable Finance
Digital Transformation
Learn from Michael Jongeneel, about ESG data aggregation practices within FMO and digitalization benefits for SMEs. Interview led by Hans Koning, Global Chief Industry Specialist, Digital Finance at IFC. ‘I have been in Mumbai for less than 24 hours, but I already had a couple of very interesting discussions and potential collaboration with Indian...
Leader Dialogue Series - Interview with Jane Prokop - EVP of Small and Medium Enterprises - Mastercard
Digital Financial Services
Payments
Learn from Jane Prokop - EVP of Small and Medium Enterprises at Mastercard, about her experience attending the Global SME Finance Forum for the first time and the latest challenges of digitalization. Interview led by Hans Koning, Global Chief Industry Specialist, Digital Finance at IFC. ‘It is my first time joining the SME Finance Forum and it has...
Inclusive Finance India Report 2023
Financial Inclusion
The Inclusive Finance India Report provides a comprehensive review of the progress of financial inclusion in the country, tracking performance, highlighting achievements, and flagging gaps and issues that need to be addressed at the levels of both policy and practice. It is a much-awaited annual reference document for policymakers, investors,...
Paymentology appoints Jeff Parker as CEO
Payments
Former SVP and Managing Director of Marqeta takes on new role at leading global issuer-processor to propel its growth journey across the globe 12 th Dec Paymentology , a leading global issuer-processor, today announces the appointment of its new CEO Jeff Parker, who will be succeeding the interim Co-CEOs Abe Smith and Angy Watson. Jeff is a leader...
Fintech: Friend, Foe or Frenemy? - Podcast with member Alraedah Finance
Islamic Banking
In the latest episode of Couchonomics, Arjun was joined by Paul Melotto, Executive Board Member at Alraedah Finance . Paul has played a key part in Arjun’s journey to understand the Saudi ecosystem, especially regarding fintech and financial services. In the episode, Arjun and Paul discussed: The state of Non-Banked Financial Institutions in KSA...
Creditinfo appoints Satrajit Saha as new Global CEO
Credit Risk & Scoring
Former CEO of TransUnion Europe – Satrajit Saha – brings his expertise to Creditinfo, planning to drive growth across its credit bureaus globally. London – 29 th November 2023: Creditinfo, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has today announced the appointment of Satrajit Saha as its Global Chief...
SE Holdings, a South Africa agri-services company, joins the SME Finance Forum
Financial Inclusion
Non Financial Services
Rural & Agriculture Finance
Washington D.C, December 6, 2023 – Leading agri-services company SE Holdings has joined the SME Finance Forum as its global membership network’s latest member. The 240+ members of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge...
Leader Dialogue Series - Interview with PVSLN, Murty, Chairman and Managing Director, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi)
Non Financial Services
Equity
Learn from PVSLN, Murty, Chairman and Managing Director, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi), about their mission to champion the entrepreneurial spirit of the North Eastern Region of India, financing commercially viable industries and providing consultancy services. The interview is led by Hans Koning, Global Chief Industry...
Leader Dialogue Series - Interview with Sandy Kemper - Founder and Chairman - C2FO
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Learn from Sandy Kemper, Founder and Chairman of C2FO, about their on-demand working capital platform as he is answering questions from Hans Koning, Global Chief Industry Specialist, Digital Finance at IFC. 'The IFC has the goal of getting to a hundred billion USD funding by 2030 and we, at C2FO are trying to get to a trillion USD of funding by...
Building Green: Sustainable Construction in Emerging Markets
Sustainable Finance
Switching to greener technologies in construction and operation of buildings and materials, combined with more climate-friendly capital markets, could reduce the construction value chain’s carbon footprint 23 percent by 2035, while creating investment opportunities in emerging markets, according to a major report from the International Finance...
FCI 55th Annual Meeting – Launch of the IFC Knowledge Guide on Factoring Regulation and Supervision
Supply & Value Chain Finance
FCI, an SME Finance Forum Industry Partner, held its 55th annual meeting in Marrakech, Morocco from October 29 to November 3 2023. More than 250 attendees joined to network and discuss current issues within the Factoring and Receivables Finance Industry. With over EUR 300 billion financed to SMEs as well as to larger corporates, the global...
OECD:  Financing SMEs for sustainability  - Drivers, Constraints and Policies
Sustainable Finance
Policy & Regulation
Addressing the climate crisis requires the net zero transition of millions of SMEs globally. SMEs have a significant aggregate environmental footprint and need to adopt cleaner business models. As eco-entrepreneurs and eco-innovators, they also have a key role to play in devising innovative climate solutions. Access to finance is essential for SME...
Dashen Bank, a leading Ethiopian financial institution, joins the SME Finance Forum
Financial Education
Financial Inclusion
Washington D.C, November 21, 2023 – Ethiopia’s Dashen Bank has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest member. The 240+ members of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and...
SDFC, the Maldives’ first financial institution focused on MSMEs, joins the SME Finance Forum
Financial Inclusion
Rural & Agriculture Finance
Washington D.C, November 14, 2023 – Maldivian non-banking finance institution SDFC has joined the SME Finance Forum as its global membership network’s latest member. The 240+ members of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through...
Innovations in Financial Services for MSMEs
Financial Education
Financial Inclusion
Gender Finance
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Digital Transformation
Digitizing the MSME ecosystem through e-commerce, the gig economy, and digital MSME business services has an impact on the digital-transformation of small businesses. These digital advancements have reshaped the landscape for MSMEs and enabled new opportunities for growth and expansion. The rise of digitally enabled new solutions for MSMEs, such...
SME Finance, Opportunities and Challenges
Supply & Value Chain Finance
With over EUR 300 billion financed to SMEs as well as to larger corporates, the global factoring and receivables finance Industry is is providing much needed liquidity to the heart of the economy to support economic growth, export and employment. How does the industry evolve and adapt to challenges such as fraud, changing regulations and ESG...
Launch of IFC’s Knowledge Guide on Factoring Regulation and Supervision​
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Policy & Regulation
During FCI 55th Annual Meeting , Qamar Saleem, CEO of the SME Finance Forum, launched the ‘ Knowledge Guide on Factoring Regulation and Supervision ’. This guide complements UNIDROIT's model law and provides guidance on law reforms seeking to support receivables finance. It indicates options and recommendations to establish a cohesive regulatory...
OECD - Recommendation of the Council on SME Financing
Policy & Regulation
The Recommendation on SME financing was adopted by the OECD Council meeting at Ministerial level on 8 June 2023 on the proposal of the Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (CSMEE). The Recommendation aims to support Adherents in their efforts to enhance SME access to a diverse range of financing instruments. It supports the development of...
OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard: 2023 Highlights
Financial Inclusion
Governance
The "OECD Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs Scoreboard: 2023 Highlights" document SME and entrepreneurship financing trends, conditions and policy developments. The report provides official data on SME financing in close to 50 countries, including indicators on debt, equity, asset-based finance and financing conditions. Data for 2021 are...
B20, Business at OECD, IOE: "Addressing efficiency in payments and working capital to deliver Sustainability and Growth”
Sustainable Finance
Payments
The B20 , Business at OECD (BIAC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) released a joint paper, underlining the need to raise business productivity by effectively addressing the private sector’s working capital requirements. Released in the margins of the B20 India Summit, the three leading private sector organizations recommend to...
IFC Hails G20 Declaration’s Emphasis on Digital Public Infrastructure, Says Key for SME Expansion
Policy & Regulation
New Delhi, September 15, 2023 – IFC Vice President for Industries, Mohamed Gouled, currently on a two-day official visit to India, has commended India's leadership at the G20 for its strong emphasis on the significance of digital public infrastructure (DPI) in achieving financial inclusion. "This formal recognition that technology must be used for...
G20 GPFI - Innovations in SME Financial Services Presentation
Financial Inclusion
Digital Financial Services
Digital Transformation
Background: The India G20 Presidency has prioritized the development of an open, inclusive and responsible digital financial ecosystem based on the presence of a sound and effective digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the advancement of financial inclusion and productivity gains. Builds on the work and achievements from previous presidencies...
Enhancing Global SME Financing through Prosperity Data Networks: An Integration of Hayek's and Sen's Economic Insights in the Digital Age
Financial Inclusion
Policy & Regulation
Data Analytics
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the global economy, yet they often face challenges due to limited access to financing. To address this issue, we propose the implementation of Prosperity Data Networks (PDNs), a cutting-edge tool that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI). PDNs are AI-powered, community-controlled and...
IFC's GB-TAP - Sustainable MSME Finance Reference Guide
Financial Education
Sustainable Finance
To help financial institutions to translate sustainable finance principles to the operations they have with MSMEs, IFC Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP) has developed the Sustainable MSME Finance Reference Guide. This first-of-its-kind Guide sets out a practical approach for financial institutions in emerging markets on how to...
The synergy between MSMEs and digital infrastructure promises to reshape the landscape of economic growth and prosperity: T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, RBI
Non Financial Services
Policy & Regulation
Digital Financial Services
Fintech
Day 3 of the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 saw panel discussions and keynote addresses by thought leaders like Shri Chanchal Chand Sarkar, Economic Adviser, DEA, Ministry of Finance, India, Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, RBI, Shri Ajay Seth, Secretary, DEA, Ministry of Finance, India, Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director, SBI, Ms. Nisha...
SME Finance Forum Recognizes Winners of Global SME Finance Awards 2023
Non Financial Services
Policy & Regulation
Digital Financial Services
Fintech
Mumbai, India, September 14, 2023 - The 2023 Global SME Finance Award winners were announced during the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 in Mumbai, India. Across all categories, a record 165 applications were submitted from 120 different institutions. 30 applications were identified by an independent, expert panel of 85 judges as winners. The award...
The Digital super cycle and MSME sector play pivotal role in shaping India's economic growth: KV Kamath, Chairman, NaBFID
Non Financial Services
Policy & Regulation
Digital Financial Services
Fintech
Day 2 of the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 saw panel discussions and keynote addresses by thought leaders like A K Goel, Chairman, Indian Banks’ Association, KV Kamath, Chairman, NaBFID, Alok Kumar Choudhary, MD, SBI, Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Rajiv Anand, DMD, Axis Bank, Chanchal Sarkar, Economic...
MSME is the backbone of Indian economy for employment and development, says Dr. Bhagwat Kharad, MoS, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India
Non Financial Services
Policy & Regulation
Digital Financial Services
Fintech
SME Finance Forum 2023 commence their 9th edition of the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 in Mumbai The Day 1 of the Global SME Finance Forum 2023 saw panel discussions and key note address by some of the renown names as speakers like Mr. Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, International Finance Corporation (recorded speech), Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Co-...
 Pakistan Financial Inclusion: Karandaaz Survey
Financial Inclusion
Newly released financial survey from our member Karandazz! The report delves deep into financial service access and demand, with a special focus on digital financial services. To support financial inclusion in Pakistan, it is important to have clear definitions, metrics, and estimates for planning and intervention designs. Karandaaz notes that...
Paymentology and Mastercard Join Forces to Foster Financial Inclusion in Northern Central America
Financial Inclusion
Payments
The partnership will enable a more robust financial ecosystem in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, granting underserved and unbanked segments of the population access to the digital economy. Guatemala, August 2023 : Paymentology , the leading global issuer-processor, today announces an expanded partnership with Mastercard to bolster financial...