SME FINANCE FORUM
Event

Annual Conferences

The Global SME Finance Forum is the annual flagship event of the SME Finance Forum, where senior executives from hundreds of banks, NBFI, development finance institutions, and fintech companies participate from around the world. The three-day conference usually features study visits to fintechs and financial institutions in the hosting city, annual members meeting, fintech pitches, Global SME Finance Award ceremony, SME Finance Marketplace, sessions, and a variety of panel discussions, fireside chats and keynote addresses by worldclass industry experts.
 
For the last six years, the Global SME Finance Forum Conference has been promoting opportunities to help SMES grow around the globe and access much need finance. The event has been filled with networking opportunities from keynotes to dinner and marketplace. You would have the opportunity to meet new people and make new connections that can lead to partnerships. You would have discovered the latest fintech innovations and good practice in SME banking and non-financial services from local institutions.
 
The Global SME Finance Forum is the largest, most high-level, technically in-depth meeting on SME financing that occurs anywhere in the world each year. The winners of the Global SME Finance Awards - that recognize outstanding achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in delivering innovative products and services to their SME clients -  are announced during the event! 
 
The action-packed in-person event usually includes interactive sessions, study visits to high performing institutions, a B2B marketplace, fintech expos, and ample networking opportunities. Our virtual conference emulates the same in-person experience, by offering one-on-one networking, a virtual marketplace, exhibition booths, breakout sessions, fireside chats, and live panel discussions, as well as the recognition of the  Global SME Finance Awards winners. 
 
Our last Global SME Finance Forum conference was conducted virtually on October 26-28, 2020 with the participation of more than 2600 registered attendees from more than 1000 institutions and 149 countries. The Global SME Finance Forum 2021 will be held in the last quarter of the year, on October 18-20. The venue and format of the conference will be announced toward end of April.
 
Read more about each conference below:
 
2021 - Virtual Edition - Greening SME Finance
2020 - Virtual Edition - SME Finance Outlook 2030
2019 - Amsterdam - The Convergence of the Real and Financial Sectors in SME Finance
2018 - Madrid -  Reaching the Informal: the Role of Finance in Improving the Growth and Productivity of SMEs
2018 - Regional (Kenya) - Harnessing Innovation
2017 - Berlin - Digitization of SME Finance
2016 - China - Emerging Trends that Impact Small Business Finance
2015 - Turkey - Partnerships and Innovation for SME Finance
 
For more information about our conferences, email us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org