News

Washington, D.C. November 13, 2018 –  Trefi became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs.  

“200 million businesses worldwide need financing to invest, grow and create new jobs. We are proud to have Trefi join our network of 150 members who work to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the Forum.  

SME Finance Forum member Diamond Bank is helping women plan for the future with its BETA savings account. According to the article, providing access to financial services can improve a women’s earning potential, depart from poverty and reduce inequality worldwide. 

Almost one billion women around the world, don’t have access to savings, credit or insurance, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex report. 

Washington, D.C. October 16, 2018 – The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs.  

SME Finance Forum member, Funding Circle partnered with top fintech reporting and analytics platform, dv01. 

According to the article, the partnership will allow institutional investors who use dv01 to conduct analysis on marketplace lending and mortgage loans and bonds to access Funding Circle's US SME loan performance data on dv01. Investors will have around the clock access to updated loan level performance and composition details through Funding Circle’s data.

Washington, D.C. October 9, 2018 –  Access to Finance Rwanda became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. 

Washington, D.C. September 25, 2018 –  Shanghai Zhaoxi Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Zhaoxi) became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. 

In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, regional CEO of Africa and the Middle East for Standard Chartered Bank, Sunil Kaushal shared his plans and partnerships with India and UAE.

Kaushal shared,“Mmy vision is to build up a business which delivers a solid result and generates the right returns for all our stakeholders – but on a sustainable basis with a strong foundation of controls and compliance.”

SME Finance Forum member, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved approximately $895 million in financing and political risk insurance that will benefit Africa, Asia and Latin America in energy, healthcare, housing and financial services, according to a release by OPIC.

The funds will contribute to the following OPIC initiatives: 2X Women’s Initiative, the Connect Africa Initiative, the Northern Triangle Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Initiative.

SME Finance Forum member Mastercard and South India Bank will together launch ‘Merchant in a Box’ an integrated card accepting kit for merchants and SMEs. 

The kit includes a branded business debit card and the Bharat QR service, along with instant access to bank accounts and the acceptance of digital payments, according to the article.