Articles
Financial Inclusion
Apr 15, 2024
In November 2023, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) moderated the closed-door roundtable "How Universal Trusted Credentials (UTC) can transform financial inclusion" . This event brought together senior representatives from central banks, financial institutions, and other stakeholders from around the world to discuss the opportunities...
Financial Inclusion
Youth Entrepreneurship
Aug 14, 2023
Over 163 million informal workers in emerging markets have found new opportunities through #gigplatforms, but many remain financially excluded. That's why platforms are stepping up to offer financial services to #gigworkers, helping them save, invest, and access credit. The impact can be positive for the workers and the economy. If you're...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Feb 08, 2023
Our member, Asante Financial Services Group, is driven by passion to see to the growth of the MSME sector in Africa. It is through strategic partnerships such as the one with SOLV Kenya, a member company of Standard Chartered Banking Group, that we are able to extend our reach to the Kenyan MSMEs In Sub-Saharan Africa, micro, small and medium...
Alternative Financing
Digital Financial Services
Dec 15, 2022
Digital lending or alternative lending is a catalyst to inclusive financial services for segments that are not a key target for traditional financial institutions. The use of AI-powered decisioning systems for evaluating individual credit eligibility by digital lending platforms has now become critical for micro, small and medium enterprises (...
Sustainable Finance
Digital Transformation
Oct 05, 2022
What we heard on September 21 st …. We kicked off the second day of the Global SME Finance Forum 2022 with Ruth Horowitz - Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, IFC and his Excellency Phan Phalla - Secretary of State for the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia. Both Ruth Horowitz and Secretary Phan Phalla spoke about the...
Sustainable Finance
Digital Transformation
Oct 04, 2022
What we heard on September 20 th …. Opening remarks were given by H.E. Chea Chanto – Governor, National Bank of Cambodia and Tomasz Telma – Director, Financial Institutions Group, IFC Chea Chanto laid out examples of how Cambodia is increasingly leveraging digitalisation to improve access to finance and Tomasz Telma talked about data driven...
Trade Finance
Sep 14, 2022
This podcast prepared by our industry partner Trade Finance Global, features Matt Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum and Magda Bianco, co-chair of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). It gives an overview of current G20 initiatives designed to help SMEs get easier access to finance. Among those initiatives is the Global SME...
Sustainable Finance
Dec 01, 2021
Conference Proceedings of the 2021 Global SME Finance Forum Day 1 - October 18th Opening Remarks Makhtar Diop, Managing Director and EVP, International Finance Corporation (IFC) We need contribution from SMEs to help us reach our sustainability goals. Individually not a major source of greenhouse gases but collectively account for a significant...
Guarantees
Covid-19
May 27, 2021
Posted originally in the Financial Resilience Around the World, World Bank Blog Series Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel region, was already facing difficult challenges when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. The security context had been deteriorating since June 2018, with an upsurge in violent attacks by terrorists and...
Digital Transformation
Mar 15, 2021
*This article is an excerpt with key highlights from WeBank’s recent presentation at the 2021 Knowledge Annual Conference of the IFC. The pandemic has shoved the global economy into a state of chaos, affecting both large corporations and SMEs across nearly all sectors. However, the global outbreak has also brought opportunities to innovate...
Covid-19
Digital Financial Services
Mar 04, 2021
The past 12 months have brought a multitude of unprecedented challenges for small businesses. It was inspirational to witness how they responded with versatility, creativity and tenacity, and how that brought about rapid innovation, new collaboration and empathy that continues to benefit society as a whole. It was also exciting to see the...
Non Financial Services
Gender Finance
Covid-19
Jan 15, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted many lives across the globe. In this blog we focus on women. Worldwide, the pandemic has hit women harder than men. Women run a higher risk of COVID-19 contagion due to their occupations in health-related activities. They are also overrepresented in jobs where social distancing has been more difficult...
Fintech
Dec 23, 2020
Our member Raiffesisen Bank International’s Partnership Program Elevator Lab’s fourth round took place virtually in the second half of 2020. Elevator Lab had been selected as one of the “Best Financial Innovation Labs in 2020” by the Global Finance. The Lab aims at finding innovative fintech solutions and building mutually beneficial partnerships...
Financial Inclusion
Dec 22, 2020
Our member Kabbage plans to expand on the work done by researchers from NYU Stern on the kind of lenders that had the highest minority share among their Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans. They will work on exploring the reasons behind the found correlation between the lender type and borrower race. The current research note focused on...
Fintech
Dec 17, 2020
We are happy to share that our member Bitbond , Germany’s leading tokenization and digital asset custody technology provider, and Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH), one of Europe’s oldest banks, have joined forces to issue a Euro (EUR) stablecoin (EURB) on the Stellar network. The EURB stablecoin is the first stablecoin issued directly by a banking...
Sustainable Finance
Dec 15, 2020
As the world reflects on progress on climate action since the Paris Agreement signing, it has been clear that action by small and medium-sized companies is essential for accelerating the transition to a net-zero emissions global economy. The SME Climate Hub has joined forces with Oxford University to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (...
Covid-19
Dec 10, 2020
We are happy to share that our member U GRO Capital has recently entered into a strategic partnership with the Wadhwani Foundation, a global non-profit organization. The partnership between the two organizations will mutually benefit the micro, small and medium enterprises that are predominantly present in education, healthcare, hospitality,...
Islamic Banking
Dec 08, 2020
We are happy to share that our member Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector’s (ICD) has established Finnovation Award to recognize, showcase and encourage financial institutions that provide an outstanding solution to the financial industry. Finnovation awards are a part of their new online platform “ Finnovation ” which...
Operational Risk
Dec 07, 2020
Our member Afreximbank has taken the lead in creating a platform for Customer Due Diligence (CDD)/Know Your Customer (KYC) issues, with a special emphasis on African financial institutions and corporates. The platform referred to as Mansa will provide a single source of primary data required for performing customer due diligence checks on...
Digital Financial Services
Dec 04, 2020
We’re delighted to share that our member Fern Software’s premier CRM and loans management system, FaaSBank is now used by over 50 community and SME lending organizations from coast to coast in Canada. FaaSBank was collaboratively designed with Community Futures Development Corporations (CDFDCs) in Ontario, Canada. User friendly and intuitive,...
Fintech
Dec 03, 2020
COVID-19 has immensely changed the way we work. With an increase in reliance over online communication and remote work, there has also been an increase in security and data threat issues. Therefore, to meet the needs of modern-day digital challenges, our member Fern Software has partnered with Salesforce, one of the largest cloud-based software...
Islamic Banking
Dec 03, 2020
One of the main goals of our member Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector’s (ICD) asset management department is to create an “Enabling Environment” for the growth of Islamic Finance and build “Partnerships” with the private sector to enhance resource mobilization. The SME Funds at Asset Management Department of ICD is...
Covid-19
Dec 02, 2020
Our member Triodos Investment Management has shared an informative column on “How Covid-19 is changing financial inclusion,” by Frank Streppel, Head of Global Investments at Triodos IM. He is a seasoned impact investing specialist with more than 20 years of expertise. According to him, financial inclusion facilitates access to all other basic...
Equity
Dec 02, 2020
Small and medium businesses have been some of the hardest hit in the COVID-19 pandemic. And all that has been as true in emerging markets as it has been for SMBs in the developed world. Tunde Kehinde has had a front-row seat witnessing and responding to that crisis. He’s the CEO and co-founder of our global member Lidya , a startup out of Nigeria...
Equity
Dec 01, 2020
We are pleased to share that our member Triodos Investment Management through its Triodos Microfinance Fund and Triodos Fair Share Fund in collaboration with Germany’s GLS Bank and UmweltBank has acquired 78% of Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS), which is a member of Opportunity International, a network of banks and microfinance organizations. Triodos...
Sustainable Finance
Nov 27, 2020
We’re delighted to share that our member FinDev Canada has announced a USD 20 million loan support to FirstRand, one of South Africa’s leading financial institutions. The loan will add further financial capacity and assist in providing innovative lending solutions to FirstRand’s approximately 700,000 SME clients. Paulo Martelli, Director of...
Nov 26, 2020
We’re pleased to share our member Islamic Corporation for the Development’s (ICD) valuable work from their Business Resilience Assistance for Value-adding Enterprise (BRAVE) Women Program. The project was fully funded by the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (We-Fi). The total amount of approved funding by We-Fi for the BRAVE Women...
Sustainable Finance
Nov 25, 2020
We’re proud to share that our member FinDev Canada has announced a USD 10 million loan support to Colombia’s Business Development Bank (Bancóldex). Alongside IDB Invest, FinDev Canada’s financing will support Bancóldex’s COVID-19 emergency liquidity lending program, which will support SMEs severely affected by the pandemic in Colombia. Created in...
Digital Financial Services
Nov 25, 2020
We all know that a lot has changed in 2020 as society gets used to the new routines; working from home or working on the front lines. Our member Fern Software is ready to enable this transition with a new platform that allows users to work from anywhere. Using AI technology to identify trends, they've embraced digital to the fullest with the...
Trade Finance
Nov 24, 2020
We are delighted to share that our member HPD LendScape’s key client Allied Irish Bank (AIB) has completed a major technology initiative with the migration of its receivables finance operations to HPD LendScape’s fully cloud-hosted platform. The Cloud migration and software upgrade will allow the bank to easily scale up its offering and improve...
Rural & Agriculture Finance
Nov 23, 2020
We are excited to share that our member The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) has announced that the nominations are now open for Prince Talal International Prize for Human Development for the year 2020 under the subject "Zero Hunger: Eliminating hunger, providing food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Nov 11, 2020
We are delighted to share that our member Triodos Investment Management’s Microfinance Fund, Fair Share Fund and Hivos-Triodos Fund have provided a EUR 3 million debt facility to KoinWorks, the leading digital lender in the growing peer-to-peer (P2P) lending space in Indonesia. KoinWorks is a company which connects borrowers (SMEs) to lenders on...
Sustainable Finance
Nov 06, 2020
We are proud to announce that our member Triodos Investment Management’s Hivos-Triodos Fund , has taken an equity share in Indian clean-tech company GPS Renewables (GPS), together with the local impact investor Caspian. GPS is a leading and innovative bio-energy technology company that develops disruptive organic-waste-to-energy solutions. The...
Non Financial Services
Nov 06, 2020
Fyndoo by our member Topicus has partnered with de Volksbank to accelerate financing to the self-employed and entreprenuers. This partnership enables complete digitization of loan applications and loan processing. Entrepreneurs can now obtain financing with 5 working days upon completion of all documentation. “With Fyndoo Lending we offer...
Trade Finance
Nov 02, 2020
Global Executive Forum Series by Trade Finance Global and SME Finance Forum. Our partner Trade Finance Global launched the Global Executive Forum Series, in a joint collaboration with the SME Finance Forum. The second interview in the series discusses ‘1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders’ with Maria Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business, Majda Dabaghi,...
Financial Education
Nov 02, 2020
We are proud to announce that our member Proparco and Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD) has committed approx. €2.5 billion to finance MSMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa, by the year 2022. The Choose Africa initiative is implemented by the AFD group and coordinated by Proparco. About 10,000 African companies will be supported by this...
Financial Education
Nov 02, 2020
We are proud to announce that our member Triodos Investment Management’s Microfinance Fund and the German Development Finance Institution (DEG) have invested close to USD 25 million in Ipak Yuli Bank, a universal commercial bank in Uzbekistan. Both investors have acquired an equal minority stake in the share capital of the bank through an issuance...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Oct 16, 2020
We are proud to share that our member HPD LendScape has partnered with Emirates Development Bank (EDB) to launch UAE’s National Supply Chain Finance (SCF) platform. This initiative will offer UAE businesses improved access to working capital, particularly as they cope with the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. SCF solutions will enable...
Non Financial Services
Oct 15, 2020
Fyndoo is the name of a lending ecosystem, a cloud technology stack developed and owned and by our member, Topicus. They make financing accessible, efficient and transparent for all parties involved and connect financers, entrepreneurs and advisors with their cloud-based business lending platform. Lack of access to lending is a challenge for...
Digital Financial Services
Oct 15, 2020
This blog has been originally posted on the World Bank Blogs website. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a huge role in facilitating economic development due to their flexibility and affinity to innovation. Even more so in emerging economies with a high contribution from the informal sector. Yet, MSMEs face several challenges when...
Digital Financial Services
Oct 15, 2020
Our member CashDirector, an AI-enabled Digital CFO for SMEs with operations in Poland, France, Germany and Italy, is further expanding its services in Europe with the support of EIT Digital Accelerator and a recent financing round led by one of the largest Polish Investment Funds, EEC Magenta. Through CashDirector, banks obtain valuable...
Financial Education
Oct 15, 2020
We're proud to share that our members 4G CAPITAL GROUP Limited (“4G CAPITAL”) and Citi with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) and the Ford Foundation have collaborated to expand financial inclusion through the provision of working capital to support the growth of micro-enterprises in Kenya. 4G Capital will receive a...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Oct 07, 2020
On Wednesday September 19, 2019, our member Afriland First Bank organized a meeting between SMEs and SMIs. This was the second edition of this event which brought together around 100 Cameroonian companies. The theme of the event was “From factory to market: solutions to the challenges of production and distribution by SMEs / SMIs in Cameroon.” The...
Covid-19
Oct 06, 2020
Originally posted in Nanopay website In this piece, prepared by member Nanopay, Ivy Luu, Director of Liquidity Management Solutions, talks about the future of liquidity management and draws parallels between today’s crisis and the one that occurred in 2008. Continue reading here>
Covid-19
Sep 29, 2020
Our partner Trade Finance Global launched the Global Executive Forum Series, in a joint collaboration with the SME Finance Forum , with the first B20 / Business at OECD - OCDE Interview with Gianluca Riccio, CFA, Vice-Chair Finance Committee, Business at OECD. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the world’s considerable dependence on Global...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 29, 2020
This blog has been originally posted on the World Bank Blogs website. For most MSMEs, capital and wealth are concentrated in movable assets -- in the developing world, 78% of the capital stock of businesses are inventory, equipment or receivables, and only 22% land and buildings. Conversely though, lending practices in most of the developing world...
Gender Finance
Sep 25, 2020
Women play a significant role in the development of our economy but are one of the most vulnerable groups impacted by unprecedented events. The ongoing pandemic has heightened the need to address the gender finance gap in societies around the world and drive initiatives to support them in achieving financial independence. We’re proud to see our...
Gender Finance
Sep 25, 2020
As 2020 started, Wandia Gichuru’s eyes were set on a 40% revenue growth on her business from the previous year. Wandia is Founder and Owner of Vivo, a manufacturer and retailer of women’s clothing with 14 shops throughout Kenya. Little did she know that only a few months later the world would go into a rare lockdown which would make even matching...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 24, 2020
This blog has been originally posted on the World Bank Blogs website . Two months from now, about 200 million people will be out of jobs due to the economic effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The disruption of supply chains and reduction in demand are impacting businesses’ cash flows and profitability—in some cases permanently. To avert a...
Sep 04, 2020
Originally published on The Next Web . History has taught us that times of crisis drive demand for technological advancement. Those that leverage innovative technology, to tackle challenges and turn them into opportunities, are often the most successful in helping society to recover. Earlier this year, when the novel coronavirus sparked a global...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 17, 2020
Despite a low growth economy, which was hit even harder by COVID-19, local small and medium enterprise (SME) financier Retail Capital, has retained its national BB+ credit rating. While its international rating has dropped by one notch to B- in line with South Africa’s credit downgrade in March, both ratings have a stable outlook. This has...
Financial Education
Jul 30, 2020
Originally posted by The Banker and reproduced with author's permission. Accounting has a long tradition. In Europe, it can be traced back to the 15th century, when double-entry bookkeeping became more widely known through the publication of a book by friar Luca Pacioli, in 1494, where he described the practice that Venetian merchants had been...
Covid-19
Jul 21, 2020
Originally posted on the The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) website . Since the early onset of the global pandemic, Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has adopted ongoing preventive and supportive measures aimed at containing the negative repercussions of COVID-19 on the local economy. Furthermore, the central bank has facilitated the use of...
May 11, 2020
Last December, we invited Nick Ogden, founder of ClearBank and WorldPay, to our offices for a presentation about RTGS, and a new interbank network the company was developing, where the benefits of the real-time gross settlement are uniquely matched to real-time guaranteed liquidity. RTGS Limited was founded by Nick Ogden, the entrepreneur who, as...
Covid-19
Apr 29, 2020
Over a period of less than two weeks, since it was officially declared a pandemic by WHO, COVID-19 has disrupted lives and economies around the globe. According to a briefing issued by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely shrink the global GDP by almost one percent in 2020. Countries have...
Gender Finance
Covid-19
Apr 27, 2020
Promoting good practices in women entrepreneur financing has always been an important focus of the SME Finance Forum. Financial inclusion for women has always been challenging, particularly in emerging and developing markets where women entrepreneurs have lower access to capital, which severely restricts their progress and ability to contribute to...
Covid-19
Apr 17, 2020
SME Finance Forum members CRIF and Strands have joined forces in an exciting move to create a new provider of digital solutions for Open Banking. Earlier this month, it was announced that CRIF had acquired Strands, and we had the exclusive opportunity to talk to Enrico Lodi , CRIF’s General Manager, and Erik Brieva , Strands’ CEO, to discuss what...
Covid-19
Apr 14, 2020
Posted originally on The Banker website. Article by Lesly Goh , SME Finance Forum Senior Advisor, and former chief technology officer at the World Bank . Closer partnerships between governments and innovative companies will help our communities during and after the COVID-19 crisis, says the World Bank's Lesly Goh. It is a grim reality for small...
Financial Education
Covid-19
Apr 07, 2020
The Department of the Treasury and Small Business Administration issued guidance for the Paycheck Protection Program. The guidance can be found here: Paycheck Protection Program – Interim Final Rule Assistance for American Workers and Families In the weeks immediately after the passage of the CARES Act, Americans will see fast and direct relief in...
Covid-19
Apr 03, 2020
Member: World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) statement on COVID-19 Posted originally on https://www.wsbi-esbg.org/ Due to COVID-19, the financial industry will face an unprecedented challenge, and this may last for quite some time. A health pandemic was not on the cards and banks need to work together with authorities to avoid the...
Mar 30, 2020
Originally posted on the IFC Intranet on March 30th,2020 Strategy Analyst Khondoker Tanveer Haider spoke with Communications Consultant Gregory James Felder about the importance of youth engagement at IFC and launching the MSME Finance Competition. This is an edited version of their conversation. Q: Khondoker is an interesting name. What does it...
Guarantees
Feb 10, 2020
In this article published by ALIDE , prepared by Pablo Pombo, Horacio Molina, and Jesús N. Ramírez, the authors aim to provide a better understanding of the operation of guarantee schemes through their typology and their corresponding business models. When discussing guarantee coverage in favour of micro, small and medium enterprises, it would...
Digital Financial Services
Fintech
Jan 14, 2020
Business Reporter, a UK based B2B media outlet are producing the ‘global Future of Banking & FinTech filmed thought leadership series’ in 2020, a series of interviews and on-location documentaries aimed at educating business owners globally on the innovation trends that are reshaping the way financial services are structured, provided and used...
Dec 02, 2019
Community of Practice (CoP): Risk Management - A recap on 2019 meeting held in Amsterdam Credit Scoring's Contribution to Sustainable and Profitable MSM Loan Growth and Key Success Factors for Use of Credit Scoring The meeting took place on October 10, 10AM–12:30PM, in Amsterdam, during the Global SME Finance Forum 2019. The meeting was chaired...
Gender Finance
Sep 30, 2019
A study by Stanford University , Northwestern University, Dartmouth College and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology found investors are more likely to bet that a company will see its stock prices rise if it reported “higher-than-average” gender diversity among its staff. Article via The Washington Informer .
Sep 27, 2019
Proparco ’s 10-year anniversary issue of the Private Sector & Development magazine focuses on SME finance in Africa. As with each issue, Member Proparco gives a voice to a wide range of contributors: entrepreneurs, economists or fintech experts, allowing us to take a fresh look at the subject of SME financing, have a feeling from the ground of...
Digital Financial Services
Sep 24, 2019
Originally posted on the World Bank Blogs Platform . Have you noticed the large number of digital trails that are left behind in your browser and social media? Have you ever received an offer for a product or service that you were just thinking of? A friend of mine was researching about a critical illness and looking for insurance plans on the...
Digital Financial Services
Sep 09, 2019
Among the leading fintech companies that are performing well in India are Paypal , PhonePe , Paytm , Google Pay . Trading companies like Share Khan and Money Control too have a large presence in the market. Insurance companies like Policy Bazaar can also be included in this list. Yet, there is a huge vacuum when it comes to the different fintech...
Digital Financial Services
Sep 09, 2019
Reserving equity crowdfunding rounds exclusively for customers is emerging as a popular method of fundraising. Read more here . Article via Medici .
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 06, 2019
The cofounders of Kabbage -- CEO Rob Frohwein, and president Kathryn Petralia were interviewed at 2019 LendIt conference , who shared how they’ve built a company that has extended $6 billion in credit to 165,000 people in the United States. Read more here
Digital Transformation
Sep 05, 2019
While initial forms of platforms have been around for centuries, more prominent ones have emerged in the last 15 years with the rise of the internet. New models which connected initially developer applications and customers arose (the first softwares), eventually connecting people together, sellers and buyers, hosts and visitors, drivers with...
Financial Education
Sep 05, 2019
In this interview by James Militizer of NextBillion , Martin Burt, Founder and CEO of Fundacion Paraguaya , speaks about his book and suggests we ask a different question: Who owns poverty? In it, he explores what happens when you examine poverty from the viewpoint of the real experts: poor families themselves. He also tells storys about Fundacion...
Digital Financial Services
Sep 03, 2019
The phenomenon can be traced to the development of emerging economies that picked up just as smartphones were catching on. Millions of people in Asia's emerging markets missed the personal computer era but have leapfrogged straight to smartphones, and using apps is second nature to them. Read more about WeChat and Go-Jek here . Article via Nikkei...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 26, 2019
Lending practices in most of the developing world, where wealth concentration in movables can be even greater, is disproportionate with concentration on immovables as the sole type of eligible collateral, most often due to inadequate legal and institutional protections available. To find clarity and a potential solution to this challenge, the...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 26, 2019
This interview to 22 small business owners who are clients of Accion Microfinance Bank (AMfB) to learn more about their financial health and capability is part of a research to develop a framework to help MSMEs better understand and achieve financial health. This project was done with the support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 23, 2019
The future of the banking ecosystem will extend well beyond financial services. The key pillars of a bank in the future will be data, API, AI&ML, a cloud-based platform, cybersecurity, and controls & compliance. Read more here . Article by GoMedici.com
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 22, 2019
For India to gain double digit growth figures going forward, its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will have a prominent role to play in employment generation, exports, skilling and making the sector more formalised. MSMEs contribute 33% to India’s GDP and employ 11.7 crore people (that is 40% of India’s workforce). This snapshot of a...
Gender Finance
Aug 22, 2019
To help boost women’s access to financial services, VisionFund International , the microfinance arm of World Vision , launched the Women’s Empowerment Fund (WEF) in 2016. The fund’s aim is to build women’s resilience by expanding financial access and delivering high quality credit, savings and insurance products developed with women, especially...
Digital Financial Services
Aug 20, 2019
After the 2008 financial crisis, FinTech leveraged the opportunity to address the needs of SMEs when banks could not. The solutions and innovations presented by FinTechs were crucial and came from digital-only neobanks/digital banks. Read more here via Medici .
Rural & Agriculture Finance
Aug 20, 2019
The #agriculture sector plays a critical role in the livelihoods of people around the world – yet it’s facing an uncertain future. mall- and medium-sized enterprises (#SMEs) in the agriculture sector will be an essential part of any solutions to these challenges. Article via Next Billion .
Youth Entrepreneurship
Aug 20, 2019
A lack of data on the youth segment has led many to assume that young people don’t make good clients. However, a growing body of evidence shows that youth have significant potential as clients. Read more in this CGAP’s blog .
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 19, 2019
With initiatives coming from both public and private sectors, including traditional institutions and fintech start-ups, SMEs stand to gain from fintech initiatives within the next few years. Those that make the move to digitize their businesses will be able to capitalize on these new products and solutions to improve their business performance...
Digital Financial Services
Aug 16, 2019
P2P lending and fintech companies are subjected to strict regulations holding back the creative disruption of financial services. Article via Financial Post .
Financial Education
Aug 15, 2019
Despite all the hype around fintech and cryptocurrencies, financial innovation still generates a particular degree of skepticism. Nonetheless, financial innovation has brought both the investing world and the broader financial services sector to generate products and innovations designed to deliver positive impacts for both society and the planet...
Aug 15, 2019
The Smart Campaign launches new standards and guidance covering digital financial services, especially credit. This is a step forward for protecting consumers who are accessing financial services digitally for the first time. The big news in these standards is that they shift the emphasis in application of consumer protection from staff and...
Aug 14, 2019
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a long-term local currency loan of 100 million Georgian lari (around 35 million US dollars) to the Bank of Georgia to help boost access to finance for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs. The investment is supported by the Women Entrepreneurs...
Digital Financial Services
Aug 13, 2019
The unmet SME financing needs have thus created an opportunity for the rise of alternative financing models, such as peer-to-peer lending platforms powered by fintech. Pooling private credit from accredited investors, money can be loaned to carefully screened SMEs, and the minimum buy-in is lower than typically needed for bonds sold at the private...
Digital Financial Services
Aug 13, 2019
"If you want to see the future of fintech, just go to China," said Edith Yeung, managing partner of Proof of Capital, a blockchain-focused investment firm at a breakfast roundtable Fortune hosted at its inaugural Brainstorm Finance conference earlier this year. She cited Alibaba-spinoff Ant Financial and Tencent's WeChat as paragons of digital...
Digital Transformation
Aug 09, 2019
CFI Research Fellow Dan Kleinbaum describes them—including their main delivery types—and their potential for helping institutions reach the underserved. Read this blog article from SME Finance Forum Member Accion about how financial institutions should think about their API strategies. Article via the Center for Financial Inclusion, Accion .
Financial Education
Aug 08, 2019
Listen to the podcast of SVP Darrell, who describes how PayPal financing solutions are positioned in an SMB market. Lastly, because PayPal is embedded in its borrowers’ businesses, Darrell shares some data about how businesses perform after tapping PayPal for capital. Find the podcast in the link . Article via The Tear Sheet .
Aug 08, 2019
With So Many Financial Instruments Out There – When and How to do Results-Based Financing? Amidst growing skepticism of traditional aid models , the field of results-based financing (RBF) has taken root. But with so many mechanisms – DIBs and SIBs , HIBs and SIINCs – getting attention, it can be difficult to know which tool will help an...
Gender Finance
Aug 06, 2019
DURBAN - Women’s Day and Women’s month are not only a tribute to our contribution to the struggle against apartheid but an affirmation of our ceaseless pursuit of gender parity and equity. According to the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report, South Africa was ranked 19th overall. However, in terms of the active economic participation of women and...
Digital Financial Services
Aug 06, 2019
Non-financial firms – from ecommerce distributors to healthcare providers – have myriad unique assets, notably a large customer base, unique insights, and crucially, trusted relationships. Capitalizing on these, non-financial companies can offer financial products and services to their customers. Article via Forbes
Digital Financial Services
Aug 05, 2019
Hong Kong’s first virtual banks are not expected to be operational for at least another month, but banking customers in the city are already reaping the benefits. For the first time in about two decades, eight of the special administrative region’s largest banks will no longer charge fees for failure to maintain a minimum monthly balance.
Financial Education
Aug 01, 2019
TechnoServe partnered with the Argidius Foundation to launch the Catalyzing SGB Acceleration (CaSA) Initiative. Through this initiative, they will help a corporate partner to design and implement a shared-value pilot project to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, tapping into their experience working with entrepreneurs on three...
Financial Education
Jul 29, 2019
IFC began partnering with Bank Audi in 2015. IFC provided the company with detailed advice on how to launch a pioneering line of collateral-free small business loans—and since Bank Audi joined forces with IFC, it has disbursed 5,000 of these loans. The project is part of a larger effort by IFC to extend financial services to small businesses...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jul 26, 2019
The Philippine economy in particular has been consistently growing by 5.3% per year, driven by favourable economic conditions and strong macroeconomic fundamentals. However, this promising growth can only be achieved sustainably and inclusively if roadblocks currently faced by the lifeblood of the country’s economy - its small and medium-sized...
Financial Education
Jul 25, 2019
There are many challenges involved in offering financial services, especially when payment interoperability is involved. For almost all of these challenges, the problems are well-known beforehand. The costs involved in mitigating a problem are easily determined, and a logical decision can be made as to when it’s time to address that particular...
Digital Transformation
Jul 24, 2019
Supporting SMEs is a mantra of governments and banks alike, writes Brian Caplen from The Banker . But any new policies will need to take account of changes in the international economy. Thanks to the new fintech companies dealing in payments, getting paid has also become a lot easier. All this means that banks can no longer simply declare...
Digital Transformation
Fintech
Jul 23, 2019
Here’s how digital lenders are utilizing machine learning to reshape the industry and provide a growing number of small enterprises with the capital they need. Read about how predictive models are being trained to assess risks by analyzing cases of financial fraud and improve the underwriting process.
Digital Financial Services
Jul 17, 2019
Tech Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have a significant role to play in the IoT value chain by designing, integrating and adapting IoT solutions that respond to the realities, ecosystem and needs of the region.
Digital Transformation
Jul 09, 2019
The MSME sector is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. Studies by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) show that approximately 96% of Nigerian businesses are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Thanks to digital technology, it is worth noting that ecommerce platforms have so far played a key role in boosting and accelerating MSMEs...
Gender Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jun 19, 2019
When a woman wants to start or grow her own business, the odds of securing a business loan are heavily stacked against her. This affects women like Yeo from Ivory Coast, who was unable to take out a loan for her farming business because, as a woman, she did not own any land that the bank required as collateral. Data says 80 percent of women-owned...
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jun 17, 2019
CGAP estimates that there is a $4.9 trillion credit gap for micro and small businesses in emerging markets. But digital technologies are disrupting traditional means of delivering MSE finance. CGAP talked to some of the most interesting companies about these new business models and breaks down the findings for you in their latest blog and deck...
Non Financial Services
Digital Financial Services
Digital Transformation
Jun 17, 2019
Do open APIs make sense for your company? Which ones? This blog outlines a structured approach, taken by a CGAP partner, which allowed the team to develop a deeper understanding of the API product’s value and requirements and to ultimately get the buy-in it needs to develop and release a successful product. By following a five-step process and...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jun 14, 2019
A lack of previous credit history creates a vicious cycle for SMEs. Loan applications with missing information are automatically rejected by formal institutions, which leads SMEs to again go back to informal sources of funding. To solve this problem, the question that needs to be tackled is: how can underwriting of SME loans be simplified, given...
Financial Education
Jun 10, 2019
A few months after the leaders of the CEO Partnership for Economic Inclusion (CEOP) met for the second time in Davos during the World Economic Forum (WEF) , we spent two days working with the companies’ advisors to advance the initiatives which have launched on the ground, and to come together to explore new ones. Rabobank, one of the 10 member...
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Payments
Jun 03, 2019
Jessica Alfaro, a Financial Sector Specialist at the SME Finance Forum, was the introductory speaker on the Corporate and Commercial panel at the Accenture Fintech Forum “What is Really Working” on May 13. This event was part of the FinTechStage Festival 2019 taking place over five days in Milan, Italy. Alfaro was joined on the panel by speakers...
Sustainable Finance
Policy & Regulation
May 10, 2019
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu spoke to Financial Times to discuss what she thinks of financial inclusion. She said it is the core mission of the World Bank, where she has been vice-president for equitable growth, finance and institutions since October of last year. In the Middle East and Africa, she says, fintech’s role in financial inclusion is seen as a...
Credit Risk & Scoring
May 07, 2019
Household debt is at an all-time high, delinquencies have been rising, and forward-looking macroeconomic indicators are softening. As a result, lenders are reexamining their capacities for handling delinquencies. Part of that reevaluation for heads of collections involves taking into account changes in the consumer landscape. For example,...
Sustainable Finance
Policy & Regulation
Digital Transformation
May 03, 2019
There is a shortage of credit data on MSME borrowers — also referred to as ‘thin file’ borrowers, since MSMEs lack access to traditional credit facilities through banks and other traditional lenders. The authors in this World Bank Group blog say that this information asymmetry has paved the way for identifying new ways to assess the...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Transformation
Apr 29, 2019
The journey from unbundling to rebundling and back has been a formidable one. Emerging technologies and the pace of innovation are driving changes throughout the banking industry at an unprecedented rate. From Asia to Europe, U.S. to Africa, and Australia to the Middle East, consumers are not only increasingly adopting digital – most are demanding...
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Apr 23, 2019
Banque du Caire has embarked on a five-year transformation strategy that includes regional expansion, strengthening its digital platform and boosting SME financing and financial inclusion. This interview with the CEO Tarek Fayed, shares how the bank is expanding its SME loan and microfinance portfolios. “We are planning to offer our clients a well...
Gender Finance
Sustainable Finance
Digital Transformation
Apr 18, 2019
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...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Digital Financial Services
Payments
Apr 15, 2019
Jay Singer is Senior Vice President, Global Small Business Segment at Mastercard. In this role, he leads the global development and commercialization of the Mastercard innovative commercial products and solutions that serve small businesses. In an article, Singer speaks of how poor cash flow management is one of the top reasons small businesses...
Rural & Agriculture Finance
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Apr 12, 2019
The Fiji Development Bank (FDB) and the Ministry of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a matching grant scheme to support SMEs focused on agriculture. According to the article, SMEs can receive access to grant finance of up to $50,000 and loan funding of up to $100,000. Areas that are included to benefit from this scheme are...
Alternative Financing
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Apr 09, 2019
Interview with Terrence Teoh, SME banking head at Hong Leong Bank, recently named the best SME bank in Malaysia by The Asian Banker. “For SMEs to expand, it is not only funding that is important,” said Terrence Teoh, the head of group SME banking at Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB). “Of course funding matters, but on top of that, how you collect your...
Financial Education
Governance
Policy & Regulation
Apr 08, 2019
Member OPIC continues to make an impact in closing the SME finance Gap where it's needed most. In this letter to the editor for Myanmar Times, Scot Marciel, U.S. ambassador to Myanmar speaks on how OPIC continues to invest in Myanmar. Marciel says, "Two years ago OPIC committed financing to its first microfinance project in Myanmar, to help...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Transformation
Apr 04, 2019
Radoslav Albrecht is the Founder and CEO of Bitbond, a global lending platform for small business loans. The SME Finance Forum member, leverages blockchain technology to connect creditworthy borrowers with individual and institutional investors. Recently, Anthony Manfre interviewed Radoslav to learn more about how Bitbond is leading innovation in...
Alternative Financing
Policy & Regulation
Mar 27, 2019
SME Finance Forum CEO, Matthew Gamser, recently explained why the G20 cares about financial inclusion (and has since its inception), and why SME access to finance always has been included in its work on inclusion. Gamser offered these insights at a plenary talk at the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) Ministerial Roundtable this week...
Financial Education
Non Financial Services
Alternative Financing
Gender Finance
Mar 26, 2019
IFC’s latest study shows that a more diverse panel of asset managers may be the key to bigger profits. Henriette Kolb, Head of IFC’s Gender Secretariat, said an ideal mix of at least 30 percent of women in an investment team can lead to substantially bigger yields for the company. BusinessWorld reports. “The median gender balanced fund...
Financial Education
Non Financial Services
Gender Finance
Guarantees
Mar 12, 2019
With more than $3 trillion in assets under management—nearly $800 billion of which is allocated to emerging markets—private equity can be a powerful source of financing, especially for innovative businesses that cannot access bank loans or capital markets. Investors and funds with stakes in these privately owned companies not only help them expand...
Financial Education
Gender Finance
Mar 08, 2019
Tracey Davies, President of Money20/20, and founder of the Rise Up initiative, outlines the five ways the program empowers women at work as the initiative comes to Singapore. I have always been a hopeful optimist about the trajectory of women, but as the number of women reaching the top just hasn’t made the progress I expected, I have become much...
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Transformation
Mar 07, 2019
CreditEase - an SME Finance Forum member - founder and CEO Ning Tang recently shared with Mckinsey his perspective on how fintech players, from both within and outside China, can capture the opportunity among small and midsize Chinese businesses and how artificial intelligence (AI) can help. The following commentary is adapted from that...
Sustainable Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Mar 01, 2019
This Forbes' article written by John Welsh, includes: a profile on CreditEnable; highlights about the CEO and Founder Nadia Sood’s career and outlines CreditEnable's 'Changemakers Programme', an initiative they have just launched in conjunction with the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the world’s largest SME association, representing 70...
Financial Education
Policy & Regulation
Payments
Feb 21, 2019
Eric Duflos, Director of the Office of the UNSGSA, wrote a blog titled "Doing Business While Doing Good: CEOs Partner to Boost Inclusion." Last month in Davos, at the invitation of Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), the leaders of ten leading global companies...
Non Financial Services
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Digital Transformation
Feb 15, 2019
Businesses such as Amazon and Uber have created successful customer experience models. In this blog, the author shares his common denominators that the financial industry should pay close attention to 1. Be customer experience obsessed. A study found that 68% of millennials have stopped doing business with a brand due to a single poor customer...
Financial Education
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Sustainable Finance
Feb 06, 2019
“It’s one thing to offer universal healthcare to your citizens. But the next question is ‘okay, where can I go,’” said Bart Schaap, Chief Financial Officer at Medical Credit Fund (MCF). The region suffers from a dearth of healthcare facilities, especially ones that provide quality care. For Schaap, the solution is obvious: “If you want to address...
Gender Finance
Policy & Regulation
Digital Financial Services
Digital Transformation
Feb 05, 2019
In a bid to accelerate women’s financial inclusion in MENA, the region with the lowest female economic participation in the world , the DFID-funded Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund ( AWEF ) led a study to understand the scope for Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Egypt, map key constraints to women’s financial inclusion and identify opportunities to...
Gender Finance
Sustainable Finance
Governance
Jan 23, 2019
Access to finance also remains a problem, where 53 percent of women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not have access to credit and 70 percent of surveyed MENA female entrepreneurs agree that lending conditions in their economy are too restrictive and do not allow them to secure the financing needed for growth. This is where e-commerce...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Governance
Jan 23, 2019
An IFC team worked with World Bank colleagues to create a new market for leasing in Haiti and address the problems SMEs have accessing finance. The project exemplifies the Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach: a private-sector solution made possible by public-sector interventions. Team members relied on lessons learned from previous...
Governance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jan 17, 2019
According to an IFC report, there are a few key challenges that have long limited the digital transformation of financial services in emerging markets. These challenges include: low access to formal financial services; low income and financial-literacy levels; underdeveloped technology solutions; and weak infrastructures. Due to these challenges,...
Sustainable Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Jan 14, 2019
To date, there has been no efficient way of uncovering synthetic ID fraud. To crack down on it, every customer seeking credit would have to undergo even more rigorous ID checks than they do already. This Mckinsey article proposes a new approach that, with the help of machine learning, digs deep into vast amounts of third-party data to gauge...
Youth Entrepreneurship
Fintech
Jan 08, 2019
Ammar Khalid, Helena Molina, Susannah Horton, and Patteera Mae Chaladmanakul are second-year International Development students who recently traveled to the Philippines, to gain a deeper knowledge of possible financing models for youth entrepreneurs. Throughout the year, the team conducted a global stocktaking on successful models for financing...
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Financial Services
Jan 04, 2019
McKinsey reached out to the CEOs of three innovative fintechs—Ping Identity, Plaid, and Tink—for their perspectives on global prospects for open banking. While these firms address varying perceived pain points in financial services and pursue different business models, common themes emerged across the three interviews. The implications for banks...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Payments
Jan 02, 2019
By leveraging partnerships with farmers’ cooperatives and telecom operator MTN, in a recent pilot Advans Cote d’Ivoire achieved 100 percent on-time repayment and notably increased school attendance among borrowers’ children. This innovative work with cocoa farmers earned Advans Cote d’Ivoire the 2018 European Microfinance Award for inclusive...
Dec 17, 2018
The SME Finance Forum's Immersion Programs are aimed at providing our members with 1-2 day exposure visits to high performing regional or global financial institutions or fintechs to gather in depth knowledge about an innovative aspect of their operations. The immersion visits will allow members to hear practical first-hand accounts from the host...
Financial Education
Non Financial Services
Sustainable Finance
Dec 07, 2018
While alternative dispute resolution has exploded in popularity for larger businesses, it hasn’t found its way to the MSME community. As a friend in the arbitration business said recently, “micro businesses couldn’t afford the coffee at most arbitration centers.” But the emerging field of online dispute resolution, or ODR, promises to change the...
Sustainable Finance
Policy & Regulation
Credit Risk & Scoring
Payments
Nov 30, 2018
Mobile phones are helping millions of low-income customers to access financial services for the first time, but they are also exposing them to new cyber threats they could never have imagined. The Serianu 2017 Africa Cyber Security Report estimates that cybercrime in mobile-based transactions costs businesses $140 million per year in Africa. Why...
Sustainable Finance
Trade Finance
Nov 21, 2018
Qatar the upcoming “free economic zone,” according to the article will attract business in a monumental way. HSBC, a long standing bank in Qatar is excited about the upcoming advantages that will be presented with this opportunity. “We are seeing credit appetite from every player in this market. HSBC will be lending higher in volumes over the next...
Sustainable Finance
Policy & Regulation
Nov 21, 2018
A new labor policy in Australia will provide SMEs free legal advice to resolve tax related issues. According to the article, Labor will provide four million dollars over four years to create 10 tax clinics across the country. The policy will provide assistance and advice to vulnerable taxpayers and SMEs. Small businesses accounted for about a...
Alternative Financing
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Nov 14, 2018
Global remittances are expected to rise from $468 billion in 2010 to $667 billion in 2019 along with new investment channels bringing in an extra $73 billion a year in Commonwealth countries. Crowdfunding platforms have the potential to make a significant difference for SMEs in developing countries, however rules and regulations around...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Sustainable Finance
Nov 11, 2018
Through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Western Balkans SME Competitiveness Support Programme the Sparkasse Banka Makedonija will receive a €10 million loan to boost lending for SMEs. According to the article, the loan is aimed at improving the competitiveness of local companies, with at least 60 percent of the funds aimed...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Nov 08, 2018
According to a report by report from the Hồ Chí Minh Securities Company, interest rates have risen by 0.46 percent for short-term loans, they are now 7 to 9 percent and for medium and long-term loans 9 to 12.5 percent. According to the article, this increase is being used in the hopes of reducing money supply to tackle inflation. A strict monetary...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Oct 31, 2018
Effective risk assessment is instrumental in the lending business. According to Medici, technology companies are creating risk assessment models with increasingly inclusive variables that are allowing lenders to reach the previously unbankable population. Alternative data can improve risk assessment for retail lenders. According to the article,...
Financial Education
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Policy & Regulation
Oct 29, 2018
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank will support the financing of SMEs in Armenia through a US $15 million loan to Ardshinbank. The loan will benefit 100 SMEs and impact 3,600 jobs in Armenia, according to the article. SMEs in Armenia are a key driver and contributor to the country’s GDP, generating up to 40 percent of GDP. “As a development...
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Financial Services
Oct 29, 2018
Nordic Banks are shifting their focus toward more technology implementation to gain a competitive advantage against non-traditional fintech competitors. According to the article, several Nordic banks have plans to move their branch services completely online. “Like many banks, we must face the reality of change,” said Timo Ritakallio, OP Financial...
Financial Education
Trade Finance
Oct 24, 2018
The Royal Bank of Scotland laid away £2 billion to support SMEs with trade finance, term finance and increased liquidity as they handle Brexit. According to the article SMEs rely on EU labour markets and exposure to foreign exchange movements. During this time UK banks have anticipated concerns related to Brexit’s effect on supply chains and...
Financial Education
Policy & Regulation
Oct 22, 2018
Efforts towards improving economic growth through SMEs are moving towards the Middle East and North African (MENA) territories, according to the article. Due to the failing oil reserves and revenues, MENA governments have changed their focus towards SMEs for economic growth, through long term programs and plans. According to the article, the SME...
Financial Education
Credit Risk & Scoring
Digital Transformation
Oct 16, 2018
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Union (EU) launched the Advice for Small Businesses (ASB) Programme to support SMEs in Lebanon. The programme will help foster private sector growth, job creation, innovation, competitiveness, and increase SMEs’ access to finance. According to the article, SMEs in Lebanon...
Financial Education
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Policy & Regulation
Fintech
Oct 16, 2018
Despite providing immense financial support for the economy, SMEs still face a multitude of challenges and lack support. According to the article, 72 percent of all startup funding went into only three companies in the region (Africa) in the span of two recent years. Supply and demand are the causes inhibiting SMEs’ access to support. On the...
Financial Education
Non Financial Services
Governance
Policy & Regulation
Oct 14, 2018
Africa's Times of News , provided insights to the IFC estimation that Africa’s finance gap for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stands at $331bn. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of most African economies and investment in this sector will significantly enhance job creation and wealth development. The informal...
Financial Education
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Oct 11, 2018
To increase competitiveness SMEs are urged to join global value chains. According to the article, lack of quality supplier-buyer relations with multinationals is hindering SMEs access to electronics global value chains. A World Bank report says only 300 Vietnamese firms are completely eligible to connect with the world’s production chains...
Gender Finance
Sustainable Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Oct 09, 2018
The largest untapped market in the world is women, according to Women’s World Banking. Financial institutions are failing to ensure their offerings work for women, however three elements with a gender-inclusive design can help counter this issue: Go beyond “gender-neutral” Segmenting by gender during the product design phase Developing the...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Digital Transformation
Oct 05, 2018
Fintechs understand the importance of access to finance for SMEs and so do companies. With about 95 percent of SMEs contributing as much as 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and are employing about 60 percent of the country’s workforce, companies like First Circle are rising to the occasion. The company, which provides business...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 28, 2018
Euromoney says SMEs account for nine out of every 10 businesses in Mexico, however only a third have access to finance. “Despite numerous financial institutions operating in the market, financial services penetration remains low,” said Norbert Schneider, principal investment officer for Mexico at the IFC. SMEs in the country are lacking credit...
Youth Entrepreneurship
Digital Financial Services
Sep 28, 2018
The UN Secretary General’s High-level Meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development discussed focus of investments, measuring data for SDGs and vulnerable countries and sectors. According to the article, the meeting focused on: Aligning global financial and economic policies with the 2030 Agenda Enhancing sustainable financing...
Guarantees
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Sep 28, 2018
Myanma Economic Bank (MEB) will provide funds to SMEs in the the manufacturing, production and trading, import substitution, recycling and energy saving and services sectors. MEB has a two-step loan with an interest rate of nine percent, a part of their SME loan program. Borrowers able to utilize property as collateral will be able to access K300...
Gender Finance
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Sep 26, 2018
Approved bank loans to SMEs has decreased by 15 percent over the last 10 years, and roughly 60 percent of all ventures in need of external financing have reported difficulties in accessing financing for their investments, according to an article by the Harvard Business Review. Digitization is proving to have a negative effect on entrepreneurs,...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 25, 2018
The IFC in partnership with the Department of Finance, the Land Registration Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Trade and Industry, various MSMEs and banking associations to construct a new bill to support MSMEs in the Philippines. The Personal Property Security Act (Republic Act No...
Gender Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 24, 2018
In the G7 Executive Talk Series briefing report, the critical role of women in the cryptocurrency sector is examined. According to the report, 95 percent of males are bitcoin users while on five percent are females. One key element explaining the cause of this imbalance is due to the psychological theory that men take more risks than women,...
Non Financial Services
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Payments
Sep 17, 2018
Medici examines the potential blockchain can have on the insurance industry. According to the article, blockchain is the answer to various stress-points throughout the insurance value chain. Areas where blockchain applications are being developed include: claims management and verification, new product and platform development, and record keeping...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 14, 2018
SMEs are still struggling to curate working capital. Medici examines the glitches in SME lending, automation of onboarding customers and loan origination and how banks can make real change in SME lending. Reported errors in the SME lending: Most of the time, banks refuse to lend money to those whose revenue is less than $2 million. Banks view SME...
Financial Education
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Sep 14, 2018
The head of the EU delegation to Egypt, Ambassador Ivan Surkoš reported the European Union (EU), with support from European financial institutions will provide €475 million in loans to support SMEs. EU launched the ‘EU Facility for Inclusive Growth and Job Creation,’ which aims to provide an environment of business creation and economic...
Financial Education
Gender Finance
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Policy & Regulation
Sep 10, 2018
India has lended to hundreds throughout the unbanked community and is the largest microfinance market in the world, according to Next Billion. Microfinance in India has its pros and cons. It’s able to reach customers that mainstream financial institutions fail to notice, but it also lacks adequate regulation, making it dangerous for borrowers. The...
Financial Education
Digital Financial Services
Sep 06, 2018
About IFC DigiLab IFC DigiLab is Digital Transformation on Steroids and is our latest tool to support our clients in their digital transformation at scale. It is a program designed for small and mid sized financial institutions IFC DigiLab consists of a combination of face to face learning and networking events coupled with an online learning...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Credit Risk & Scoring
Aug 28, 2018
Alternative lending is looking more attractive to SMEs working to find affordable funding solutions for their business. According to Medici, alternative lending is focused on commerce and not credit. For example, “PayPal offers working capital loans to small businesses that transact more than $20,000 within 12 months.” According to a report by...
Financial Education
Guarantees
Aug 28, 2018
Financial barriers seem to be an unshakeable hardship for SMEs. World Finance addresses the difficulties faced by SMEs to retrieve funding from capital markets, and encourages SMEs to create their own ecosystem for capital. The article suggest, SMEs take their equity supply into their own hands to see results. SMEs creating their own ecosystem to...
Supply & Value Chain Finance
Digital Transformation
Fintech
Aug 16, 2018
Kelvin Teo, Top 200 FinTech Influencers in Asia recipient, and Reynold Wijaya, Forbes 30 under 30 recipient are both Harvard Business School graduates and co-founders for the company Funding Societies | Modalku. Funding Societies | Modalku is Southeast Asia’s largest peer-to-peer financing platform geared towards supporting SMEs grow their...
Sustainable Finance
Aug 15, 2018
In this article, sustainability strategies are discussed and how they can improve SMEs. Cost and time have proved to be a deterrent for SMEs initial involvement in the process. According to the article, a good strategy includes: economic, environmental and social performance goals. The elements attached to each are listed below: Economic...