William Davidson Institute, a Global Catalyst for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Growth, Joins the SME Finance Forum

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 affiliation, WDI will connect its expertise in business knowledge, enterprise acceleration, and ecosystem development with the Forum’s global community of financial institutions, fintechs, development organizations, and market enablers. The collaboration will create opportunities for knowledge exchange and practical learning focused on strengthening entrepreneurs and enterprises and expanding access to finance and economic opportunity. 

“We are pleased to welcome the William Davidson Institute to the SME Finance Forum. WDI’s experience working with entrepreneurs, enterprises, investors, governments, and academia brings valuable perspectives to our global network. We look forward to exchanging knowledge and exploring opportunities to strengthen the ecosystems that enable SMEs to access finance, innovate, and grow,” said Qamar Saleem, Head of SME Finance Forum. 

WDI’s participation will contribute practical insights from its work as a knowledge builder, enterprise accelerator, and ecosystem catalyst, while creating new opportunities to exchange experiences with SME finance practitioners from around the world. WDI will bring practical insights from programs such as its Investor Readiness Program, which prepares emerging-market founders to raise capital, and from its impact investing work across regions and sectors. 

 “SMEs drive jobs and economic growth around the world, but they’re chronically underfunded, especially in low- and middle-income countries. At WDI, we build the business knowledge, tools and insights that help entrepreneurs and enterprises grow and create opportunity. We’re excited to join the SME Finance Forum and the broader community of institutions working on this problem,” said Jagadeesh Sivadasan, Interim President, the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. 

SME Finance Forum: Innovation & Partnership for MSME Growth 

The SME Finance Forum, backed by G20 and IFC/World Bank, is the leading global network of 250+ members and affiliates operating in 190 countries. The network comprises SME-focused institutions providing and enabling finance and services, including banks, non-bank financial institutions, fintechs, payment platforms, development institutions, credit guarantee companies, insurers, investment funds, supply-chain players, banking and SME associations, policy advocates, regulators, academia, consulting firms, and knowledge aggregators. 

Members, affiliates, and associated stakeholders benefit from learning and replicating best practices from around the world, innovating new products for growth, accessing risk mitigation tools, establishing partnerships, attracting investors, and gaining recognition among a global peer group of innovators. 

Our activities include exclusive member offerings such as innovation hubs, solutions clinics, peer networks, study tours, specialized tools and training, member repositories, and partnered initiatives, as well as public resources including a library of more than 200 publications, over 500 videos, webinars, newsletters, training programs, annual awards, and flagship events. 

Discover the SME Finance Forum members and affiliates: 
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/page/our-members 
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/page/partner-with-us