I attended my first SIBOS meeting this September, SIBOS 2013 in Dubai.  This annual event is organized by SWIFT to discuss the latest developments and issues in payments, securities, cash management and trade.  I was asked to lead a panel on new developments in trade and payments in the middle east and africa, which, along with much of the other elements of the "corporate" stream, was a surprisingly lively and even controversial affair.  The meeting was lively because there is so much happening in products and technology in this area.  SWIFT was keen to feature their new Bank Payment Obligation, or BPO, product, as a more efficient alternative to letters of credit.   But that was only one of many topics covered, as financial institutions and third party technology providers are offering smarter, faster, better, more secure ways to handle payments and trades seemingly every day.  Making sense of it is a full time job!  The corporate stream was somewhat controversial because there were a lot of corporate treasurers from large firms present, and they proved surprisingly belligerent...their quite strong message, extremely relevant for SME finance, is that banks and other financial institutions are not listening to them...they are wrapping up old ideas in new packages and paperwork, whereas what the treasurers want is better access to capital, and credit in particular, to operate their growing supply/value chains.  hmmm....The other surprise at SIBOS was its Innotribe work (for more detail, see innotribe.com    This is a collaborative supported by SWIFT and a revolving this set of other sponsors (this year it was HP, Sberbank, Invest Northern Ireland and L39) which supports financial technology innovation, running an annual global competition, which climaxes at SIBOS.  But it's more than a competition, as the VCs and techies around Innovation also mentor the competitor.  There is one start-up global award, and one for an early stage innovator, this year won by Klickex and Waratek, respectively...but what was impressive was how many clever ideas are on offer, including many with SME relevance.  I was particularly impressed with two offering of complex algorithms to analyze payments systems, which could detect areas of weakness (such as excessive cash-out demand without cash-in;  or suspicious patterns which could indicate fraud or money laundering).  These could be enormously valuable in managing large agent networks for electronic payments replacing cash.  There were also interesting technologies to improve financial management, by individuals and by young people (see the write-up on Virtual Piggy in Innotribe, for the latter).  These could perhaps be adapted for SME use. EFL, one of the SME Finance Challenge winners, made a great impression as one of the "innovator" finalists. I wasn't sure what to expect from my trip to Dubai, and I worried that SMEs would be of little or no concern.  I came away very excited about how much was discussed relevant to SME finance, and how much potential was on display for further reducing costs to serve this segment. matt

Raised by a single mom with two kids, Elizabeth Vazquez understands better than most how vital it is for women to take control of their own destinies. She also has the perspective to see the global economic benefits of women successfully running their own businesses.Vazquez is the President, CEO and co-founder of WEConnect International, a corporate-led nonprofit that helps women business owners succeed globally. WEConnect began four years ago as an outgrowth of WBENC (the U.S.–focused Women’s Business Enterprise National Council).

“Can business solve poverty? If you think it can, raise your hand.”When I asked that question from the podium earlier this week at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs' (ANDE) annual meeting, nearly every one of the 200 members packed into the room raised a hand.

“It is crucial that businesses in the UK recruit more women into their executive pipeline. Otherwise, if we don’t, the rising economic powers of Asia Pacific will ‘eat our lunch’”.

When Victoria Kisyombe’s husband died, his family reclaimed all of the couple’s property under Tanzania’s customary laws. Victoria was left with just one cow to support her children. Because the banks would not lend money to women, Victoria saw a business opportunity and launched a micro-credit institution. She provided leases on farm animals and machinery for widows and young women starting businesses. She took the extra step of mentoring the women and making sure they were able to repay their loans.

mall and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the key to innovation and an engine of economic growth and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Despite the crucial role SMEs play in the region’s economies, they have great difficulty accessing financing needed for start-up and/or growth. The financing gap for SMEs in the MENA region is estimated to be between $110 billion and $140 billion.

The European Commission is dedicated to helping Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome the financing problems currently plaguing Europe. This is the inspiration behind a new programme called COSME (Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs), which will free up funding for SMEs and help small businesses – the backbone of Europe’s economy – create goods, services and jobs. In an interview with E and I Magazine, Vice-President Antonio Tajani explains what the Commission hopes to achieve with COSME.

The time is ripe for a wider discussion on gender and finance: evidence of the gains from economic empowerment of women is mounting rapidly - households, firms, farms, communities, and whole economies perform significantly better when women have opportunities to raise their productivity. It is practically tautological that growth will accelerate when half the population is more productive. The fundamental question at this point is: what factors are holding women back? It is surprising that we have so few empirically well-grounded answers.

Lack of investment in women-led small and growing businesses hinders economic growth and development.A third of all small and medium enterprises in developing countries are led by women, yet these firms receive a dis- proportionately small percentage of the already limited financing available for SMEs.1 Improving investment and capacity of women-led small and growing businesses is therefore critical for growing economies. Research suggests that in addition to the benefits of job creation, successful women-led enterprise benefits children and families, as women tend to spend a greater share of their income on education and health.