The Marketplace will provide an opportunity for financial institutions and other Africa SME Finance Forum participants to have 15-minute one-on-one introductory meetings with investors, advisory service providers and financial technology companies.

Follow those four simple steps to request a meeting:

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), FinTech Australia and theBankDoctor.org released a report on February 28, 2018, which outlines the steps taken by fintech lenders to increase transparency and disclosure.

The report, Fintech Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Improving Transparency and Disclosure, analyses the different approaches to disclosure across the fintech industry and makes recommendations on best practice and identifies commitments to action.

Items for action in the report include:

CEO Matthew Gamser Accepted the Award at the World Excellence Awards 2018 organized in Istanbul: by the World Business Angel Investors Forum.

Istanbul, February 19, 2018 - The SME Finance Forum was one of nine global organizations awarded by the World Business Angel Investors Forum (WBAF) during its World Excellence Awards on February 19 in Istanbul. The Forum's CEO, Matthew Gamser, accepted the Best Global Organization of the World Supporting SMEs award at a VIP Gala Dinner held at Swissotel.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) constitute 96 percent of the Palestinian private sector (Althalathini 2015), but only a quarter of these businesses are owned by women (IFC 2011). Few opportunities for women to participate in the labor force exist, either through corporate employment or entrepreneurship. Although 65 percent of Palestinian women have expressed a desire to launch a business, only 15 percent have done so (IFC 2014).

A Bain report By Gerard du Toit and Maureen Burns says that many consumers are open to buying financial products from established tech firms, making banks vulnerable. Banks that accelerate development of their digital channels and that mobilize around individual customer episodes, not products, stand the best chance of earning greater loyalty.

Small businesses need financing to grow and create jobs. Matthew Gamser, the CEO of the SME Finance Forum, discusses the staggering $5.2 trillion financing gap for micro, small and medium enterprises and what governments, banks and fintech companies can do to address this. The interview took place at the Global SME Finance Forum 2017 in Berlin, Germany.