Innovations in Delivery Channels

This International Monetary Fund paper highlights the macroeconomic relevance of SME financial inclusion in the MENAP and CCA regions and offers policy considerations to scale up SME financial access. "Financial Inclusion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Middle East and Central Asia" focus is primarily on the macroeconomic and policy aspects of SME financial inclusion, and not all issues relevant to SME financing are covered.

This brief covers the highlights from the 2017 CGAP Funder Survey, which reports funding commitments from 54 international funders, both public and private, as of the end of 2017. One of the key takeaways from the latest CGAP Funder Survey is that international funders committed US $42 billion to financial inclusion in 2017—a double-digit percentage increase from the prior year. For the first time in five years, public funding has grown faster than private funding.

Jacques Bughin, a director at the McKinsey Global Institute, explains the three elements necessary to scale up artificial intelligence and where Europe stands.

"We need infastructure, we need a platform and we need data," Bughin says of AI strategy. "We have so many countries starting to say "'I want to do AI.'"

A report published by the Center for the Governance of AI (GovAI), housed in the Future of Humanity Institute, surveys Americans’ attitudes on artificial intelligence. The impact of artificial intelligence technology on society is likely to be large. While the technology industry and governments currently predominate policy conversations on AI, the authors expect the public to become more influential over time. Understanding the public’s views on artificial intelligence will, therefore, be vital to future AI governance.

During the Global SME Finance Forum 2018, Bewater Funds' Ramon demoed the company's services at the TechPitch on November 6. 

Bewater Funds shares of non-listed companies and create a fund (FICC) to provide liquidity to investors.