A special report, Fintech for Social Good, has been released as a follow-up to the Financial Inclusion in the Developing World 2018 Q2 report by Deep Knowledge Analytics. The report is focusesd on the following key elements as it relates to non-commercial activities:
Data exchange through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) has become increasingly popular as it facilitates industry wide innovation and increases business agility. This API-oriented approach towards technology architecture has generated a lot of attention. Banks and financial institutions are adapting quickly to rapid changes in consumer and business expectations.
MSMEs need loans and grants to thrive in emerging economies. Mastercard's and Unilever's CEOs have a solution. SME Finance Forum member Mastercard is working with Unilever on new lending models for micro merchants in Kenya.
Ajay Banga is the president and CEO of Mastercard. Paul Polman is the CEO of Unilever. Their Fortune piece highlights they ways the two achieve scale and long-term growth for SMEs, by bringing together tools, data insights, and partnerships from across different sectors to change the model of small business financing.
This report is based on information gathered in the GBA’s Women’s Market Analytics Survey — the only collection of global banking data measuring the performance of financial institutions serving the Women’s Market, with four years of performance data and over 400 data points per institution. This second edition of the report bears out several trends that emerged in the previous edition, highlighting the strong business opportunity the Women's Market represents.
SME Finance Forum member, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) President and Chief Executive Officer Ray W. Washburne traveled to Zambia where he toured Zambia’s first utility scale solar power facility which is being supported by a $13 million OPIC loan and a $26 million loan from the International Finance Corporation to Neoen and Arizona-based First Solar, the joint developers of the project. The project supports the mission of Power Africa.
SME Finance Forum member Development Bank of Nigeria is working to aid in providing finance to MSMEs. Calling it a "nightmare," its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Tony Okpanachi, was appointed in 2017 with the mission to alleviate the financing constraints faced by MSMEs and small corporates in Nigeria. The Sun says his job remains to provide financing, partial credit guarantees and technical assistance to eligible financial intermediaries on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.
The SME Sustainability & Growth Conference is aimed at facilitating a much needed conversation between government and solution providers in banking, development finance, business consultants, and SMEs, to foster collaboration and growth.
The event will provide an opportunity for
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.
In Kenya, SMEs are the mainstay of the economy and are expected to play a permanent role in realizing the Vision 2030, Kenya's evolvement group blueprint. Central Bank Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge was the keynote speaker for the opening remarks at the Africa SME Finance Forum in Nairobi, which took place May 15-16.
30+ banking and finance professionals attended the Africa SME Finance Forum's study tour on May 14. The tour featured seven financial institutions and fintechs that have best in class, innovative ways of serving SMEs clients.
One of the visits was to Equity Bank Kenya Limited, a commercial bank headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
"It was a real life example of what's going on in the industry. It was great to hear their story and to sort of hear how we can go about it as well," said Salima Sikutwa of Madison Bank, Zambia.
