Learn from Jane Prokop - EVP of Small and Medium Enterprises at Mastercard, about her experience attending the Global SME Finance Forum for the first time and the latest challenges of digitalization.
This interview was led by Hans Koning, Global Chief Industry Specialist, Digital Finance at IFC.
‘It is my first time joining the SME Finance Forum and it has been fantastic! One of the real advantages of attending is that you get a chance to meet a lot of innovators. Mastercard is all about partnering and we work with both financial institutions and non-financial institutions globally and for us it is important to get to know potential partners well. Being able to meet with the management team of those companies is invaluable. It is an opportunity for formal and informal communications, and it helps orient us in terms of what is available on the market.
Digitalization in developing markets has been evolving very quickly: there are so many different solutions available that target SMEs compared to 10 years ago. That is a good thing but now SMEs don’t know which type of products they should be using and how those work together.
We are entering a new phase for digitalization, focused on streamlining the offerings and helping SMEs find the right product in a seamless way".
More about Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.
More about our Leader Dialogue Series
A series of 10 to 15 minutes interviews with CEOs, senior executives of financial institutions and technology companies as well as financial sector regulators. Those one-on-one interviews are led by an industry expert from within the World Bank Group or outside.
