Asia-Pac SMEs responding well to pandemic, but face challenges in digital transformation: poll
August 14th, 2020 – The Covid-19 pandemic has compelled small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to swiftly adopt new ways of working and selling, and firms in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region have responded better than their peers elsewhere in key a...
Ransomware attacks on South-east Asian SMEs fall in first half of 2020
September 4th, 2020 – Ransomware attacks on computeres of small and medium enterprises (SME) in South-east Asia have in the first half of this year have dropped to about one-third of the number seen in the same period last year, according to a cyber...
COVID-19: African Union agency to support SMEs across the continent
Johannesburg (South Africa) – August 12th, 2020 – The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) on launched a program to help Africa’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to adapt business operations in the era of the COVID-19 pa...
SMEs – the backbone of the EU economy
August 25th, 2020 – SMEs are vital to the EU’s economy. Supporting their development both within the single market and outside the EU is thus a key element of the Union’s overall competitiveness strategy. The European Court of Auditors is starti...
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...
