Mind the Gap; Alternative lenders become beacon of hope for SME community
August 24th, 2020 – The 2008 recession hit small and medium enterprises the hardest. Fewer businesses were founded, many had to lay off their staff and others didn’t make it through. Funding conditions were unfavourable but years later, small busi...
300 million euros to African coronavirus response
August 7th, 2020 – The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa’s foremost multilateral trade finance institution, are directing EUR 300m of financing to suppor...
$300 Billion Funding Gap for SMEs in Southeast Asia Is Critical because they Account for 42% of Region’s GDP
July 27th, 2020 – Financing for SMEs is severely limited in certain regions of the world. Many different peer to peer (P2P) lending platforms have been launched in order to provide much-needed capital to small businesses. The SME Finance Forum revea...
Africa: Show commitment to gender equality
August 1th, 2020 – The speedy implementation of commitments to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) has yet again been emphasized in a Declaration and Call for Action between the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Civil Society Organizat...
Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Women’s Equality
July 30th, 2020 – Trade can dramatically improve women’s lives, creating new jobs, enhancing consumer choice, and increasing women’s bargaining power in society. But women’s relationship with trade is complex, as it can also lead to job losses...
New gender lens investing tool for Asia-Pacific SMEs receives UN support
July 15th, 2020 – Earlier this year, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) partnered to unlock US$ 150 million in capital for gender lens investing in Asia...
Most SMEs point to this factor as critical to their recovery
July 24th, 2020 – Research from SME lender OnDeck Australia found that 57 per cent of SMEs say access to cash flow will help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It found 69 per cent of SMEs with six to 49 employees say cash flow is the main fac...
How global disruption can have local implications
July 16th, 2020 – The global impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had not only on public health, but on business, cannot be underestimated. It’s prudent to consider the impact such a global disruption of trade has on small and medium businesses. ...
Amid Multiple Crises, World Bank Group Refocuses Programs and Increases Financing to $74 billion in Fiscal Year 2020
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2020 – As people in developing countries around the world faced multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group worked to respond quickly with technical and policy advice, and scaled up financing targeted to t...
Africa could experience economic growth next year
July 10th, 2020 – Africa’s economic growth could rebound in 2021, provided that governments manage the COVID-19 infection rate well, according to updated forecasts from the African Development Bank, released on Tuesday (July 7th, 2020). In a compr...
