The Global SME Finance Forum 2020 - Virtual Edition is about to start!

Oct 24, 2020

SME Finance Forum presents the 2020 Global SME Finance Forum Virtual Conference on October 26-28, with more than 1800+ senior executives from commercial banks, development finance institutions, fintech companies, regulators, and featuring exhibition booths, fireside chats, fintech pitches, virtual tours, and much more.

The Global SME Finance Forum is the largest, most technically in-depth, and geographically diverse conference on SME financing hosted around the world each year. Our events attract over 700 leaders from commercial banks, development finance institutions, fintech companies, as well as regulators to lead conversations on the state of SME financing. This year, after hearing from our members about their situations, in particular the challenges to health and economies brought by COVID-19, we have decided to move our annual conference to a virtual forum.   

The 3-day conference will use the latest technology to emulate the in-person experience, providing for one-on-one networking, a virtual marketplace, exhibition booths, breakout sessions, fireside chats, and panel discussions, as well as the recognition of the 2020 Global SME Finance Awards winners.

“The Global SME Finance Forum meeting brings together some of the best and brightest minds in the private and public sector to share knowledge and good practices and make meaningful connections and partnerships. The SME Finance Forum, through its global membership network, facilitates on-going learning amongst members, helps link members to new business/partnership opportunities, and provides them a platform for being the industry voice in high-level policy dialogue,” said Matt Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum, organizer of the event.

Fintech Pitches

Traditionally, during our in-person event, the Fintech Pitch is one of the most exciting features of the Global SME Finance Forum. A curated selection of fintechs presents the innovative solutions and products offered by their companies, live onstage, to hundreds of senior executives from banking and financial industries worldwide. To accommodate this year’s virtual edition, our 10 selected fintechs will be featured live during the event and will be made available to all participants 24*7 at the Fintech Hall on the event platform.

Global SME Finance Awards 2020

Winners of the Global SME Finance Awards 2020 will be announced during the event on October 27th. Endorsed by the G20 countries’ Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, these awards recognize outstanding achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in delivering innovative products and services to their SME clients. This year, we have the support of IFC’s Banking on Women and We-Fi for our award category “Best Bank for Women Entrepreneurs 2020.”

More details about the event

Some of the confirmed speakers are:

Lucas Palacios, Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism of Chile
Gina Taylor Cotter, SVP & General Manager, Global Business Finance of American Express Company
Carmen M. Reinhart, Vice President and Chief Economist of World Bank Group
Alfonso Garcia Mora, Vice President Asia & the Pacific, IFC
Ongki Wanadjati Dana, CEO & President Director of BTPN
Hans Peter Lankes, Vice President, Economics & Private Sector Development, IFC

Topics include

SME Financing in times of COVID: The case of Chile and the Pandemic’s Silver Lining to the Future
State of the World's Economy
Moving into the Future
Alternative Finance: Is it at a Crossroad?
Striving in the Time of COVID
Selected Fintech Pitches
Supply Chain Finance: An Iceberg Beneath the Surface?
Non-Financial Services: Building Profitable Banks, Strengthening SMEs and Women-owned SMEs
SME Products for the Future
SME Banking: The Evolving Landscape
The State of SME Finance
Digital transformation: Long Overdue or Just in Time?
Look into the Crystal Ball: The State of SME Finance 2030

This year, the Event is sponsored by

U GRO Capital
Experian
HPD LendScape
S&P Global
vCita

To get a sense of what to expect from the event, look at this video highlight from our Global SME Finance Forum 2019 in Amsterdam!

About SMEFF20

Every year, the SME Finance Forum organizes its annual Global SME Finance Forum, the largest, highest-level, most technically in-depth, and most diverse gathering focused solely on SME financing that takes place anywhere in the world. Until this year, the event has been moving from city to city to also highlight local innovators, attracting 700+ individuals from 90+ countries per year. This year the event is going virtual!

About SME Finance Forum

Created by the G20 in 2012, and managed by the IFC, the SME Finance Forum's mission is to enhance access to finance for SMEs through knowledge sharing, networking, and public-private dialogue. In 2016, we launched a global membership network of SME-oriented commercial financial institutions, development finance institutions, fintech companies, and more, currently numbering over 200 institutions, working in virtually every country in the world. More information about the SME Finance Forum is available at www.smefinanceforum.org.

Contacts

Sarah Chataing – Communications Lead

T: +1 202.473.2954 | E: mchataing@ifc.org

Carina Cecilia Carrasco – Web & Social Media Editor

T: +1 202.297.5992 | E: ccarrasco@worldbank.org

Our website: http://www.smefinanceforum.org

Event website: http://www.globalsmefinanceforum/2020/

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