Insights & News

September 2026 – The William Daidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan, a solutions-driven nonprofit working to advance entrepreneurship and enterprise development, has joined the SME Finance Forum as an affiliate. The Forum brings together more than 250 members and affiliates across 190 countries, connecting organizations working to advance SME finance worldwide. Through this affiliat

AECM Guarantors Europe, the European network of guarantee institutions supporting access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, has joined the SME Finance Forum as an affiliate, formalizing and strengthening a longstanding relationship between the two organizations. Over the years, AECM and the SME Finance Forum have collaborated through knowledge-sharing initiatives, events, and excha

The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on critical global issues, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide t

Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI), an advisory group focused on the global payments industry, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exc

The Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.“

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in everyday business operations, and small businesses have accelerated their adoption as AI tools grow more accessible and easier to deploy. However, this democratization has not uniformly reached all business owners. Longstanding differences in technology adoption across gender and age appear to be extending into the AI era, raising questions a

Small businesses have historically lagged behind larger enterprises in adopting new technologies due to resource constraints and integration challenges. As artificial intelligence (AI) tools became widely accessible in recent years, questions emerged about whether this technology would follow similar patterns and whether small businesses would be able to benefit from it. Using de-identified Chase

Small businesses are responsible for nearly half of all private-sector jobs and economic growth. They, along with startups, serve as the dual engines driving both innovation and economic expansion. These businesses are essential to the health of the overall economy—yet entrepreneurship has been in a structural decline for decades, and the influence of small businesses has diminished as fewer new b

Unified Fintech Forum (UFF), an industry body representing 200 institutions across India’s digital financial services ecosystem, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global network’s latest affiliate. The Forum brings together 250+ members and affiliates across 190 countries, connecting organizations working to expand access to finance for small businesses worldwide. UFF joining the SME Finance

Sapphital, an African enterprise development and technology company, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation. “We are delighted

SME Finance Forum today announced that Spartan SME Finance has joined its global network of more than 250 SME finance institutions and industry stakeholders across 190 countries working to expand access to finance for small businesses worldwide.“We are delighted to welcome Spartan SME Finance as our newest member. Spartan’s long-standing commitment to supporting established SMEs through structured

The Association of South African Payment Providers (ASAPP) has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.“SME Finance Forum proudly

CARE has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.“The SME Finance Forum proudly welcomes CARE as a new affiliate. CARE’s decades o

SME Finance Forum today announced that Export Development Türkiye (İGE) has joined its global network of more than 250 SME finance institutions and industry stakeholders across 190 countries working to expand access to finance for small businesses worldwide.“We are delighted to welcome Export Development Türkiye (İGE) as our newest member. İGE’s contribution to the SME finance ecosystem aligns wit

BCR Publishing Ltd, a leading provider of news, market intelligence, events, and training for the global receivables and payables finance industry, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small bus

ConsumerCentriX (CCX), an impact consulting firm specializing in inclusive finance and market strategy, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network's latest affiliate. The Forum's more than 250 members and affiliates are SME finance institutions and industry stakeholders operating in 190 countries that share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses

The Global Climate Finance Forum (GCFF), a multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to accelerating climate finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) delivering climate solutions across the Global South, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network's latest affiliate. The Forum's network of more than 250 members and affiliates is made up of SME finance institutions and

APIX Platform, the world’s first collaborative Innovation Platform, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 250+ members and affiliates of the Forum are SME finance institutions and industry stakeholders operating in 190 countries that share the common goal of expanding access to finance for small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and

“Banking on Women Who Trade Across Borders” underscores the critical need for gender equality in international trade and trade finance. Despite the documented positive impacts of women-owned businesses on economic growth and poverty reduction, a significant gap remains in understanding how international trade intersects with female participation, particularly in accessing trade finance. Drawing fr

The world faces a jobs challenge of historic proportions that will shape global prosperity and stability for decades to come. Between 2025 and 2035, around 1.2 billion young people in emerging market and developing economies are set to reach working age, the largest youth cohort the world will likely ever see. Jobs are essential to reducing poverty, promoting shared prosperity, building self-suffi