This discussion of supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) centered on building systems to boost institutions’ confidence in lending to the sector; and the non-financial needs of MSMEs.

Gerald Sun, Vice President, Head of Sales for Commercial Payments Asia/Pacific at MasterCard Worldwide, said “the banks have trouble making a risk assessment cheaply enough. They lend to big organizations based on their income. For SMEs [small and medium enterprises], they revert to looking at assets as they would for consumer lending. The bank can value a house or car, but not a ton of fertilized chicken eggs.” MasterCard is addressing this issue by working with SMEs to help them implement digital invoicing. “Our studies show that 3 percent to 7 percent of the costs of an SME are spent managing paper invoices. Once we digitize, the money moves faster, and it becomes easier for lenders to lend.”