cat/sme-in-fragile-states
There are two views of the EGM. The first view ‘Digital Finance Studies’ shows the total number of studies that were conducted on a particular product, plotted against the client outcomes which were tested. The objective with this view is to give the user an overview of the impact literature on digital finance and highlight which digital finance products were examined, against what outcomes and how frequently.
Access to finance also remains a problem, where 53 percent of women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not have access to credit and 70 percent of surveyed MENA female entrepreneurs agree that lending conditions in their economy are too restrictive and do not allow them to secure the financing needed for growth.
According to an IFC report, there are a few key challenges that have long limited the digital transformation of financial services in emerging markets. These challenges include: low access to formal financial services; low income and financial-literacy levels; underdeveloped technology solutions; and weak infrastructures.
Washington, D.C. December 3, 2018 – JD Finance 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 JD Finance 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.
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate (UNSGSA) annual report was released and focuses on financial inclusion, technology, innovation and progress.
The report covers the advancements with mobile money and technology, in addition to covering the challenges associated with data privacy.
Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands emphasizes the importance of customer-centricity, centrality of data and engaging the private sector.
Washington, D.C. November 6, 2018 – Accion 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.
Africa's Times of News, provided insights to the IFC estimation that Africa’s finance gap for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stands at $331bn. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of most African economies and investment in this sector will significantly enhance job creation and wealth development. The informal sector contributes 38% of sub-Saharan Africa GDP yet 51% of the continent’s 44m formal MSMEs lack the finance necessary to grow. The true scale of the shortfall is almost certainly even greater given the lack of data.
There is not just one "missing middle" but rather multiple missing middles in terms of the financing needs for the diverse types of small and growing businesses (SGBs) in emerging and frontier markets.
BBVA is Spain’s second largest bank and an innovative global financial group that provides financial services in more than 30 countries to 72 million customers, of which SMEs is a very important client segment. In recent years, the bank has reinvented itself as a digital business, and it aims to be as nimble as a fintech.
A few years ago, about two million people were unbanked worldwide. The World Bank is working to bridge that gap through a commitment to universal access to financial services by 2020. IFC Vice President Karin Finkelston says the segments that should be focused on are youth, women, rural populations and smallholder farmers.
