The Global SME Finance Forum 2019 will be held October 7-9 in the Netherlands. The annual flagship event of the SME Finance Forum will bring 500+ senior executives from commercial banks, development finance institutions, fintech companies, as well as regulators to focus on leveraging digital banking to serve MSMEs. 

This year we will celebrate the 5th anniversary of our global industry network and discuss ‘The Convergence of the Real and Financial Sectors in SME Finance’.

Globally, some of the largest and fastest growing SME financiers may not have started as banks.  From tech companies, logistics firms, commodities traders, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods distributors, financial institutions are facing increasing competition from the real sector in financing small businesses. The real sector firms enjoy a competitive advantage in the form of large amounts of data and analytical skills, which give them insights into the behaviors of SME borrowers.

How will traditional financial institutions cope with this competition from the real sector? And are there untapped opportunities from these new competitors? The Global SME Finance Forum will examine the different ways in which the real sector has entered the SME finance space, and the various ways in which financiers are coping with the “new kids on the block.”

The action-packed 3–day event will include study visits to high-performing institutions, a B2B marketplace, fintech expos, panels, working groups as well as networking sessions and a gala dinner. We will also be announcing the winners of the Global SME Finance Awards 2019. Endorsed by the G20 countries’ Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, these awards recognize outstanding achievements of financial institutions and fintech companies in delivering innovative products and services to their SME clients.

The event is hosted by the SME Finance Forum, which runs a global membership network bringing together 150+ banks, fintech companies and development finance institutions to share knowledge, promote collaboration and inform policy.

To get a sense of what to expect from the event, take a look at this video highlight from our Global SME Finance Forum 2018 in Madrid!
Registration will open soon.