Date: June 24-26 2015
Location: EBRD Head Office, One Exchange Square London EC2A 2JN

The Annual DFI/IFI Working Group Meeting serves as a forum for exchanges of knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned as well as for coordination on SME finance among the development finance institutions (DFI) and international finance institutions (IFI). The annual meeting also provides a platform for other stakeholders in SME finance, including SME Finance Subgroup of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and regulators, to share their SME finance agenda, work progresses and discuss next steps that may lead to a more coordinated effort in improving and scaling up sustainable SME finance and promoting business friendly regulation and macro-level policy. The working group also welcomes participation from some of the leading and successful private sector actors.

Co-hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the overarching theme of the 2-day meeting will be about “leveraging innovation” to promote access to finance to SMEs. Alternative and innovative financing service providers will be invited to share their experiences as well as their perspectives on how the emerging players could complement the roles of the traditional banking institutions in serving SMEs. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to international development community to share their experiences and achievements made over the past year and explore synergy and partnership, where possible, to achieve greater and more impactful outcomes.

This year’s meeting will be preceded on 24 June 2015 by an annual gathering of the recipients of the G20 SME Finance Challenge Grants. After three years of program implementations, most of the Challenge projects have been completed. This year’s gathering will present a unique opportunity for those grantees to provide a fuller reflection on their achievements, their business models in term of what works and what could be done differently, as well as the roles of the G20 grants in their respective initiatives.

REGISTRATION

Accommodation recommendations

Hotel Montcalm
Please use code BANK240615 (contact Deepika Aggarwal groups@montcalm.co.uk)

Grange Holborn Hotel
Please use code 240615B

Other options: Please check travel websites such as Trip Advisor, Expedia, or Booking.com