Hosted by the German Presidency on February 24, the G20 workshop “Helping SMEs Go Global - Moving Forward in SME Finance“, brought together more than 150 experts from G20 countries, development finance institutions, and the private sector to discuss issues related to advancing financial inclusion for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This was the first time my FintechStage friends took their show, aimed at encouraging the development of fintech ecosystems, to an emerging market location. They teamed up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Omidyar Network to produce this three day affair. The first day was a “Level One Project Bootcamp”, in which the Gates Foundation led a discussion of its global initiative to achieve more inclusive payments (and financial) systems.
This report was created with the aim to inform entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, large corporations and the general public about the opportunities and challenges for fintech startups in MENA.IN particular this report tries to answer the following questions:
I had the privilege of being included as a presenter at this one day meeting, organized by the German government (Federal Ministries of Finance and Economic Development, the BMF and BMZ), our member the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), the German Savings Bank Association (DSGV), the National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR), and the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB). Beneath all the acronyms was a very important discussion about the importance of diversity in the finance industry, the different roles different types of institutions might play in
In the context of the 2017 World Mobile Congress, the IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) announced the creation of FINCONECTA, a program that integrates solutions between technology companies (FinTechs) and financial institutions (FIs).
The G20 workshop, held in Frankfurt on 24 February, brought policymakers, bankers, development bankers and fintechs together to discuss some of the latest developments in SME finance. The SME Finance Forum was honored to be asked to co-organize this workshop with the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and the Ge
I got to add a new country to my list this week, as the invited speaker and moderator for this very interesting meeting organized by the World Bank Group, the WSF, and the Islamic Development Bank of Oman. Oman, like many of the GCC countries, is facing a transition from an oil dependent past to a future requiring greater diversity in its economy, and a more substantial contribution from the private sector. With a larger population, and much smaller expatriate population than many of its neighbors, Oman may be feeling a greater urgency to make this transition, particularly following the o
SME Finance Forum Member Experian, the leader in global information services, will partner with Lenddo, a leader in non-traditional data solutions, as part of Experian’s Consumer Financial Inclusion Indexing platform in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Now I’m prejudiced, I admit it…I favor fintechs with relevance for SMEs…in that context, here are some of those I met up with at Paris Fintech Forum (25-26 January 2017) , mostly for the first time, who I’m going to try to keep an eye on:
Ibanfirst – following a distinguished career in the business payments space, they are expanding their services to broader SME financial services
Success with SMEs continues to elude many banks. Instead, they find sustainable profitability difficult to achieve and are experiencing small but increasing inroads into their customer base by alternative finance companies.
Bank management should consider a ten-question checklist to sharpen their strategic focus and ensure a long-term competitive advantage with this critical customer group.
