MEKAR, an online platform for funding Indonesian MSME loans, was recognised as the Best P2P Platform in Indonesia at the Global Wealth and Society Awards 2019.

MEKAR’s CEO Pandu Aditya Kristy received the award on behalf of the company in a glittering ceremony at the JW Marriott Hotel, Jakarta, yesterday (22/08/19).  “As per Based on our impact in Indonesia, loan safety, and more. Well done to Mekar's team and our Lending Partners financing women's businesses”, said Thierry Sanders, Co-Founder of Mekar.

A Zurich-based fintech firm whose investors include Josef Ackermann has raised additional money to value the company at more than $1 billion as it prepares to expand outside its main market of Germany. Numbrs Personal Finance raised $40 million to bring the total capital invested to almost $200 million, Chief Executive Officer Martin Saidler said in an interview. Numbrs offers an app that enables users to manage their existing bank accounts in one place and to buy financial products.

The report contextualises the role of data analytics in the ongoing digital revolution and its potential for SME performance, including for enhancing SME productivity. It presents evidence on the use of data analytics in SMEs, discusses main internal and external barriers to the use of data analytics by SMEs, and illustrates policy approaches to foster data-driven decision-making in SMEs.

Read the report here

Standard Chartered Bank and SAP Ariba today announced a strategic collaboration to make the Bank’s financial supply chain solutions easily accessible to businesses in the Asia Pacific region through Ariba Network, the world’s largest digital business network connecting more than 4.2 million companies in 190 countries.

News via Finextra

A lack of data on the youth segment has led many to assume that young people don’t make good clients. However, a growing body of evidence shows that youth have significant potential as clients.
Read more in this CGAP’s blog.

With initiatives coming from both public and private sectors, including traditional institutions and fintech start-ups, SMEs stand to gain from fintech initiatives within the next few years. 

Those that make the move to digitize their businesses will be able to capitalize on these new products and solutions to improve their business performance.
Read in this article a list of key banking innovations creating new opportunities for SMEs in Southeast Asia:

According to a World Bank report “Profiting from Parity : Unlocking the Potential of Women's Business in Africa,” launched last March, women entrepreneurs make or are obliged to make different decisions than men because of gender-specific constraints. As a result, the report notes that, on average, women-owned firms post profits that are 34 % lower than male-owned firms and have fewer employees and lower sales.

Revolut has also announced a partnership with small business cloud accounting company Xero, enabling joint customers to integrate expense data between the two platforms for seamless reconciliation in the UK.

News via Pymnts.

An increasing number of fintech startups are looking to fund small businesses in South Africa using online platforms and apps to service the massive demand for such finance. Know five of them in this article.

News via Venture Burn.
 

This CGAP’s recent paper, "The Role of Financial Services in Youth Education and Employment," makes the case that financial services can play an important role in improving educational opportunities to build job skills among people ages 15 to 24. Read the paper here.