News
Oct 16, 2019
Washington, D.C., October 16th, 2019 – The Development Bank of Rwanda became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. “200 million businesses...
Oct 08, 2019
Originally posted on IFC website . Amsterdam, October 8, 2019 —SME Finance Forum and IFC announced the winners of the second edition of the Global SME Finance Awards last night during the Global SME Finance Forum 2019, the annual flagship event of the SME Finance Forum. Sixteen award winners were selected from a global pool of 144 entrants for...
Oct 07, 2019
The Global SME Finance Forum 2019 welcomed over 650 attendees from more than 280 institutions in 75 countries. On the 5-year anniversary of the annual Forum, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), delivered the keynote address. Read Queen's Máxima full...
Oct 02, 2019
The Global SME Finance Forum 2019 is proud and honored to welcome the participation of H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). Since 2009, Queen Máxima has been working worldwide in her capacity as the UNSGSA to make financial services available to all,...
Oct 01, 2019
Mastercard launched a global effort to pay garment factory workers digitally, a pivot the industry is making from traditional cash payroll to ensure workers receive their hard-earned wages securely and consistently. With industry partners including clothing giants Levi Strauss & Co ., Marks & Spencer and VF Corporation ; and global...
Sep 26, 2019
Members IDB Invest and Overseas Private Investment Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to invest a combined $3 billion in development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next five years, with the option of increasing the investment to $5 billion. IDB Invest and OPIC aim to match this investment by catalyzing...
Sep 25, 2019
Member Mastercard and Rabobank announced a strategic partnership to give one million farmers in emerging markets access to a digital platform that makes it easier for them to sell their produce for a fair price. The platform builds on the current Mastercard Farmer Network and will be enriched by Rabobank’s expertise and reach in the food and...
Sep 23, 2019
Kabbage founders raise $11M for Drum, an SMB marketplace for sourcing salespeople, goods and services. Two serial entrepreneurs who have already built one big startup catering to SMBs — loans platform Kabbage — are launching another effort to help fill that gap. Drum, billed as a marketplace for businesses both to source sales people and sell...
Sep 23, 2019
Washington, D.C., September 23rd, 2019 – Infini became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. “200 million businesses worldwide need financing...
Sep 20, 2019
BFA is about to conclude our FIBR (Financial Inclusion on Business Runways) Project, an innovative R&D initiative which sought to demonstrate how smartphones can accelerate and deepen financial inclusion in developing countries. When we launched the FIBR Project in 2015, we outlined a set of assumptions about how increased connectivity and...