The Global SME Finance Forum 2017 was held November 1-3 in Berlin, Germany. This annual flagship event organized by the SME Finance Forum presented unique perspectives of industry thought leaders, rich experiences of the successful practitioners, and impactful financial innovations in "Digitization of SME Finance".
Instant payment services are being developed by payment market infrastructures (PMIs) all over the world. Banks also see real-time services from PMIs as an opportunity to develop new products. The benefits these domestic instant payments systems bring will also be felt in cross-border payments once the systems start to inter-operate. But the barriers to achieve this goal are not only technological.
Noor Al Hayah started off with one sewing machine and the will to start her own business. With the help of a World Bank financed fund to support small and micro-businesses in Luxor, Egypt, see how far she has come today.
Noor is one of 63,000 beneficiaries of this fund to support small-and-micro-enterprises.
The Banker's economics editor Silvia Pavoni talks to Roger Havenith, deputy chief executive of the European Investment Fund, and Adel Meer, head of SME finance at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) about how their organisations can help fill the global $5,200bn finance gap for micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The interview took place at the SME Finance Forum in Berlin.
Anne-Marie Chidzero Managing Partner, Alitheia Identity, and Board Member, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund and Women’s World Banking, suggests ways in which the World Bank Group can help catalyze private sector growth in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including supporting small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), especially women-led businesses.
This interview took place following IEG's IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings event, "Harnessing the Power of the Private Sector In Support of Sustainable Development."
The Miken Institute panel discusses the lessons learned, globally, from recent efforts to expand SME access to capital through equity markets. The experts share how effective have SME exchanges been in attracting listings and expanding firms' access to capital. The panel also reviews SME listings, and how to promote greater investor participation.
Moderator
Staci Warden, Executive Director, Center for Financial Markets, Milken Institute
Speakers
Ana Carvajal, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Group
Some experts have questioned what role microfinance institutions (MFIs) can play in financing and serving small businesses. While some MFIs have grown to accommodate more mainstream services, a study by CGAP has noted that the challenge for many MFIs to service the SGB market requires different systems, risk assessment tools, staff capacities, and more diverse product offerings. However, the need to finance and grow the SGB (small and growing businesses) sector exists as it constitutes the “missing middle”.
SMEs in India have an option when it comes to securing loans to support their businesses. India's Kinara Capital, a Financial Inclusion Challenge 2017 finalist, uses cash-flow analysis, supply-chain references and psychometric testing to offer loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises without traditional collateral.
This interview is part of Digital Frontiers Institute's course on Digital MSME Marketing, and has been reproduced with permission of the Digital Frontiers Institute.
Copyright 2020, Digital Frontiers Institute.
Members can request password to smefinanceforum@ifc.org
Finturi was one of the fintechs that participated in the TechPitch demos during the Global SME Finance Forum 2019 in Amsterdam last October. Co-founder Erich Schnoeckel presented a new method of invoice financing that connects businesses with financiers and helps businesses borrow money against invoices developed by Finturi. Learn more in this video.
#SMEFF19
