Washington D.C., 29 March 2021- We are pleased to announce that the International Trade Centre (ITC) is joining the SME Financing Forum. ITC, with Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations with responsibility for sustainable trade and enterprise development. ITC has a particular focus on women and young entrepreneurs and on improving sustainability along international supply chains. ITC joins the SME Finance Forum as the newest member of our global membership network.
“The SME Finance Forum is a global body where our members network and exchange knowledge with each other to facilitate access to finance for under-served SMEs. We are honored to welcome ITC to our network of over 220 active members who are diligently supporting the financing of SME development and success worldwide,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum.
Ian Sayers, ITCs Senior Advisor for Access to Financing and Investment, said, “We are looking forward to exploring new collaborations – particularly at this time in support of short-term financing to accelerate SME recovery from COVID. ITC is not a funding agency, so our role is rather to de-risk enterprise supply chains and reinforce business development services capacity to open-up new financing opportunities. We help 1,000s of enterprises to upgrade their performance each year and want to open more opportunities for good enterprises to get the affordable financing and investment they need to grow.”
ITC has four main pillars of work within its Access to Financing and Investment (AFI) practice: Integrating sustainable trade and enterprise development with access to affordable financing and investment at scale, Strengthening SME business development support and financing ecosystems, Improving SMEs financial management and resilience, and Supporting digitization and adaptation for new technologies. “We are very happy to finally become a member of the SME Finance Forum,” said Ian Sayers.
About SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge center for data, research, and best practice in promoting SME finance. As an implementing partner for the GPFI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was tasked with managing the initiative.
To see all SME Finance Forum members, please visit: https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list
About the International Trade Centre
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations for sustainable trade and enterprise development. ITC assists micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become competitive in global markets and contribute to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
ITC Internet Home page: www.intracen.org
Media contact ITC
Vittorio Cammarota
Media Contact SME Finance Forum
Carina Carrasco
