geo/turkey
Washington D.C, June 13, 2024 – Akbank, a Turkish bank founded in 1948 has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest member. The 300+ members/affiliates 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 innovation.
“SME Finance Forum proudly welcomes leading Women, Green and Micro SMEs focused bank in Turkey, Europe and Middle East to our network. It is with great pleasure I welcome Akbank to SME Finance Forum which is in line with our strategy of onboarding leading SME bank in emerging markets for impact,” said Qamar Saleem, Head of SME Finance Forum.
Akbank is a Turkish bank founded in 1948. It has over 30,000 employees and is headquartered in Istanbul. The bank serves more than 16 million clients through its branches and subsidiaries in Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East. It offers a range of banking and financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and asset management. It has 54,15bn $TAUM.
“As we embark on this journey with the SME Finance Forum, we looking forward to this new engagements to gain expertise, network, expand our services to SMEs, promote financial inclusion and foster innovation,” said Mr. Bülent Oğuz, SME Banking Executive Vice President at Akbank T.A.Ş.
SME Finance Forum: Innovation & Partnership for MSMEs Growth
The SME Finance Forum, backed by G20 and IFC/World Bank, is the leading global network of 300+ members/affiliates operating in 190 countries. Network comprises of SME focused institutions providing and enabling finance and services- banks, non-banks financial institutions, fintech, payment platforms, development institutions, credit guarantee companies, insurers, investment funds, supply chain linked players, banking and SME associations, policy advocates, regulators, academia, consulting houses, knowledge aggregators.
Our member, affiliates, and associated stakeholders benefit from learning/replicating best practices from across the world, innovating new products for business growth, acquiring risk mitigation tools, establishing partnerships, attracting investors, and being recognized amongst a peer group of global innovators. Our products consist of “members only” solutions (like innovation hubs, solutions clinics, peer group networks, study tours, specialized tools and trainings, member portal repository, partnered initiatives) as well as public good services (200+ publications library, 500+ videos, webinars, newsletters, trainings, annual awards, annual event etc.)
Discover the SME Finance Forum members/affiliates:
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list
https://smefinanceforum.org/about/partners
About Akbank T.A.Ş.
Akbank is a Turkish bank founded in 1948. It has over 12.9K employees and is headquartered in Istanbul. The bank serves its 13.7 million active consumer base through its 702 branches and subsidiaries in Turkey and Europe. It offers a range of banking and financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and asset management.
Learn more:
Website: https://agrianalytica.com/en/
IFC invested $75 million in a Gender Bond issued by Turkey’s Garanti Bank (a SME Finance Forum member). IFC details the story of how and why the investment with Garanti was a bold one. The bank, which is known in the market for its commitment to access to finance for women, is the first private sector bank in the world to launch a gender bond dedicated to financing women-owned small business in emerging markets. The bond has a six-year term maturity and was issued in line with IFC’s environmental and social guidelines and inspired by the ICMA Social Bond Principles. All the proceeds are earmarked for onlending to women-owned small enterprises. Lending to female clients is expected to triple over the next five years.
“IFC has been supporting women for a long time,” notes Investment Officer Yaa Boakye, who pitched the idea. “The question is what is different. When you structure something with a specific label, like a gender bond, you have that label and that brand, and investors start looking at that.”
Akbank T.A.Ş. was established in Adana on January 30, 1948 as a privately-owned commercial bank to provide resources and support to the local cotton producers, with the purpose of carrying out all kinds of banking transactions and performing any kind of economic, financial and commercial attempts and activities.
Leading fintech operating in the field of supply chain, especially focused on SMEs. C2FO operates globally.
