G20 support for data improvement
My participation in the We-Fi MENA Regional Summit – Dubai 16-17 February 2020
Middle East and North Africa
geo/middle-east-and-north-africa
We-Fi MENA Regional Summit Dubai 2020
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) announced that its next regional summit will focus on women entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa region and will be held in Dubai from February 16-17, 2020.
Survey on Very Small Entreprises in the Arab World
This publication is the result of a survey on Very Small Entreprises (VSEs) in the Arab World by the IFC - International Finance Corporation. While this report documents where the sector stands today in terms of serving the VSE segment, it also offers
lessons learned by microfinance institutions, who have already upscaled to serve VSEs from the region and beyond.
Read more here
Fintech for Women: Scaling the Financial Inclusion Pyramid in Egypt
In a bid to accelerate women’s financial inclusion in MENA, the region with the lowest female economic participation in the world, the DFID-funded Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) led a study to understand the scope for Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Egypt, map key constraints to women’s financial inclusion and identify opportunities to transform the livelihoods of low-income Egyptian women through improved access to finance.
SME lending gap in Arab region must be filled, urges AMF
The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said there is a 300 per cent funding gap for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region that banks are not filling. The Abu Dhabi-based fund said that while SMEs make up 80 per cent of businesses in the region, only one in five has a loan or line of credit. "The available financing options for SMEs are almost all in working capital forms as long-term funding for small- and medium-sized enterprises remains small," the AMF said.
Fintech in MENA: Unbundling the financial services industry
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:
SME Finance Forum members have opportunities to influence policy outcomes under Saudi G20 Presidency
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 90% of all operational businesses, two thirds of employment worldwide, and half of world’s GDP. Despite their important role as the engine of growth, the enabling policy environment in many countries is not well suited to their growth and they very often lack access to financing to grow their businesses.
According to the G20, the global SME financing gap is significant. Over 200-245 million SMEs worldwide are in need of financing to invest, grow and create employment opportunities.
Financial Inclusion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Middle East and Central Asia
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.
Report: Scale-ups Offer Significant Opportunity for Economic Growth in MENA
Successful scale-ups in the MENA region are generating on average 3.4x more revenues and 8x more jobs than other SMEs, according to new research co-authored by Strategy& and Endeavor. Released at Area 2071, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation, the study, “Scaling Up MENA SMES: How a handful of firms can fast-forward economic growth,” highlights how scale-ups positively impact economic growth in MENA and identifies priorities policymakers can use to improve their local ecosystems.
BSTDB Provides US $15 Million Loan to Support Armenian SMEs
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank will support the financing of SMEs in Armenia through a US $15 million loan to Ardshinbank.
The loan will benefit 100 SMEs and impact 3,600 jobs in Armenia, according to the article. SMEs in Armenia are a key driver and contributor to the country’s GDP, generating up to 40 percent of GDP.