Events
Sep
13
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Sep 13, 2021
New York Marriott Marquis, NYC
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2021-09-12 20:00:00
2021-09-12 20:00:00
Finovate Fall 2021
FinovateFall is returning to New York City on September 13th to 15th as they welcome everyone back to their first physical event in more than a year.
This is the chance reconnect face-to-face with the fintech community and plot a course for the future. With live demos of innovative fintech solutions, expert advice from key influencers, and unparalleled networking opportunities with senior decision-makers, there’s no better place to place to find your path forward.
Capacity may be limited due to city and state health guidelines, so lock in your spot early to guarantee yourself a seat. Click here to get the latest information on how Finovate is bringing the industry back together safely in NYC.
For those that cannot attend in-person, a digital pass will also be available. More information on the digital pass can be found here.
Members of the SME Finance Forum receive a discount on their tickets. Please reach out to us to get your discount code.
Learn more and register here>
New York Marriott Marquis, NYC
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Sep
06
SME FINANCE FORUM
Annual Conference
Sep 06, 2021
Online
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2021-09-05 20:00:00
2021-09-05 20:00:00
5th International MENA Guarantee Conference 2021 - Virtual Event
Credit Guarantees in MENA: Rebuilding SMEs post COVID - Virtual Event
5th International MENA Guarantee Conference 2021 – September 6th to 7th, 2021 - 2PM (Saudi Arabia) GMT+3
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Middle Eastern small business hard: survey data collected by the Rand Corporation during the first wave of the pandemic in June 2020 found that 85% of SMEs in the region believed that they would not survive 12 months without external support.
Given that MSMEs make up 80-90% of all regional businesses, and 70% of regional employment, this presents a challenge for policymakers and finance providers. Credit guarantee schemes are a key part of the solution, a powerful means to extend liquidity to the private sector during crisis periods, without overwhelming the fiscal balance. However, making credit guarantees work for the MSME sector is a new and developing science. Even in normal conditions, MENA SMEs face major challenges when it comes to access to finance. For example, the ILO estimates that 68% of MENA MSMEs are informal. Even those that are formally incorporated often struggle to find the collateral needed for a conventional loan.
In partnership with the SME Finance Forum, Small & Medium Enterprises Loan Guarantee ”Kafalah" is hosting the 5th International MENA Guarantee Conference on how credit guarantee schemes can meet these challenges and contribute to rebuilding SMEs post-COVID-19.
The conference will take place on September 6-7th, 2021 at 2 p.m. (Saudi Arabia) GMT+3. It will bring together the region’s leading credit guarantee experts and practitioners, alongside SME finance specialists and industry professionals.
Individual sessions will tackle the use of alternative data to extend credit to hard-to-reach clients, the role of early-stage financing and equity guarantees, the digitization of credit guarantee institutions and the specific challenges of funding for sectors especially affected by the pandemic: including tourism, supply chains and technology. Visit the website for more details about the agenda and speakers here>
Having trouble to register? Click here>
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Register to receive updates to come!
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SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Sep
02
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Sep 02, 2021
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
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2021-09-01 20:00:00
2021-09-01 20:00:00
Invitation to Participate in the Islamic Development Bank, IsDB Group Private Sector Forum (2nd September 2021)
IsDB Group is a multilateral development bank working to improve the lives of those they serve by promoting social and economic development in Member countries and Muslim communities worldwide, delivering impact at scale.
The IsDB Group Private Sector Entities will organize the “IsDBG Private Sector Forum” on the occasion of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group 46th Annual Board of Governors Meeting in Tashkent – Republic of Uzbekistan. The Forum will take place at the convention center (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) from 09:30 to 16:30.
The main objective of the Private Sector Forum is to highlight IsDB Group activities, services, initiatives and joint solutions in member countries including Uzbekistan (investment, trade and insurance). Also, to educate member countries on IsDBG role in promoting PPP projects and promote IsDB Group’s services to the private sector interested to invest in Uzbekistan and CIS countries. The Private Sector Forum shall provide a unique platform to network and establish business relations and partnerships with other leading representatives and counterparts from business community in order to share their related experience, success stories & best practices and to explore together the many investment and trade possibilities that the country offers. Furthermore, it will connect business communities in member countries by arranging parallel B2B and B2G scheduled meetings. The Private Sector development is also one of the main pillars in IsDB Group priorities.
Learn more and join the event here>
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Aug
26
SME FINANCE FORUM
Communities of Practice
Aug 26, 2021
Online
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2021-08-25 20:00:00
2021-08-25 20:00:00
Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance Community of Practice (CoP) - Embedding Payment Solutions in Financial Services for Women SMEs
Background
The objective of the new Women Entrepreneurs Financing Community of Practice (CoP) is to effectively share knowledge and best practices, tools and innovative products to facilitate increased services to W-SMEs. To discuss and agree on how best to build a sustainable community of practice, we organized the first meeting on December 16th, 2020. Its purpose was to discuss and agree on priority areas of focus and how to best structure the CoP to serve memberson how best to build a sustainable community to effectively share lessons learned on how to increase financial services to W-SMEs. About 40 members and IFC staff from diverse regions and institutions attended the meeting.
Embedding Payment Solutions in Financial Services for Women SMEs
Women MSMEs account for 32% of the MSME Finance Gap and have been disproportionately impacted by the adverse economic impact of COVID-19. Despite the global economic downturn, the digital economy grew at unprecedented levels creating economic opportunities. The digital economy offers many opportunities for W-SMEs however, to participate fully women need to be able to make and receive payments. Banks and other financial service providers (FSPs) are now embedding payment and credit services into their products and solutions for W-SMEs.
On August 26th from 8 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. EDT, Mastercard will share its experience working with partner FSPs to provide payment solutions to empower women and drive an inclusive digital economy. The meeting will also include an open discussion for participants to voluntarily share unique experiences in payments and the digital economy.
Objectives of the discussion
• Share models and showcase approaches in embedding payment solutions to W-SME value propositions
• Deep dive into managing risks of the digital economy, including algorithm bias, over-indebtedness
• Leveraging on-line data trails, sex-disaggregated data to inform strategies, product enhancements, close gaps and accelerate inclusion
• Share insights in addressing regulatory barriers, social norms
• Facilitate participants contribution in sharing unique experience and solutions
Presenters
Ginger Siegel is the North America Small Business Lead for Mastercard. In this role, she has built out a needs-based customer centric strategy and executes through building and partnering to drive solutions for partners. Most recently she was a leader in the Financial Services group at Deloitte where she was a member of the highly ranked Payments Practice with a focus on Small Business, Fintech, Bank Partnerships and Commercial Banking. Ginger brings 30 years of industry leadership experience as an executive at large multinational and regional banks. She is a frequent speaker at National conferences on the topics of small business, business banking and enabling minority entrepreneurship. She has been interviewed by Forbes, US News and World Report and USA Today on these topics and has delivered podcasts and webinars on these important topics for organizations like Create and Cultivate, The Latino Coalition and Paypal. Her focus on female entrepreneurship and mentorship has helped shape the direction of the businesses she has led.
Maria Barreiros de Juste, who is originally from Madrid, Spain, currently manages Product Management and Product Development for Small Business solutions for Mastercard Latin America and Caribbean. Maria joined Mastercard in 2015 and has +25 years of experience in the electronic payments industry, having worked and led regional teams for leading industry players in various markets, regions and roles including product development, marketing, sales and business strategy. Maria holds a B.A. in Economics and a Minor in International Relations from Smith College in Massachusetts.
Maddie Jarombek is a Director on the Global Small Business team at Mastercard where she helps SMEs make payments through driving growth of Mastercard core SME business. Maddie joined Mastercard in 2019 and has 10+ years working globally in financial services across small business credit risk scoring, lending and product development of new B2B payment solutions.
Being a CoP, member participants will also be encouraged to share their own unique experiences in this area, including achievements and questions they are now asking on the topics below:
• Leveraging Technological Innovation to unleash Market Opportunities, Greater Inclusion
• Product Design and Delivery
• Risk Management, New Risks e.g. algorithmic bias, over indebtedness
• Leveraging Partnerships and Collaboration
• Addressing Legal, Regulatory and Social Barriers
Registration is open for members on Member's portal.
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
If interested in participating, please contact Minerva Kotei for more information.
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Aug
12
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Aug 12, 2021
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2021-08-11 20:00:00
2021-08-11 20:00:00
International Trade Center’s Youth Ecopreneur Awards Launches
International Trade Center (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. It is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of SMEs.
ITC is organizing a discussion on ecopreneurship, featuring young entrepreneurs and key stakeholders in the sectors of renewable energy, waste, and water. The discussion will be followed by the official launch of the Youth Ecopreneur Awards.
The discussion aims to shed light on the unique needs of youth entrepreneurs in these sectors, their challenges, and their immense potential to contribute to an inclusive, green transformation, if given the right support. The discussion will set the stage for the launch of the premier Youth Ecopreneur Awards – a celebration of young entrepreneurs working in the above listed sectors.
The event will feature a discussion with 3 young ecopreneurs from developing countries, after which we will officially launch the Awards. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get inspired by peers from other countries and a first opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about the Awards!
Join the event and register here.
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Aug
11
SME FINANCE FORUM
Member Spotlight
Aug 11, 2021
Online
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2021-08-10 20:00:00
2021-08-10 20:00:00
Member Spotlight with Access Holding: Digitalization for the Bottom-Of-The-Pyramid
Member Spotlight #7 with Access Holding featuring AB Bank Zambia: Digitalization for the Bottom-Of-The-Pyramid
¡Habrá interpretación en vivo en ESPAÑOL para ese evento! Leer versión español abajo.
What does it take to successfully enhance financial inclusion through digitalization and increase client outreach and engagement?
AB Bank Zambia, a member of AccessHolding Group, is committed to offering every micro, medium and small-scale business owner an opportunity to eliminate financial constraints and grow their business to contribute to sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Zambia. AB Bank supports businesses owned by women and ensures financial inclusion by encouraging and rewarding savings. AB Bank offers Savings and Term Deposit Accounts with competitive interest rates. The Bank is accessible anytime and everywhere in Zambia through its mobile wallet eTumba based on integration with mobile money operators and networks of more than 20 thousand agents. The Bank is actively promoting financial literacy to empower financially excluded groups in the country.
In recent years, AB Bank has developed from a traditional brick- and mortar-based bank to a digital champion. The goal of this endeavor is to increase financial inclusion and customer outreach through alternative products and access channels, provide better customer experience and improve efficiency and speed of operations. AB Bank has been awarded several times in the past year. In November 2019, the Bank was awarded with the Outstanding Theme Messaging Award for its contribution to financial literacy in Zambia through financial education campaigns and activities promoting the value of savings. In March 2020, AB Bank won the EIB Innovation Award for Small Medium and Micro Enterprise and Agricultural Finance for the first phase of its digitalization program, which included the launch of eTumba, direct MNO integration for wallet-to-bank transactions and the implementation of automated credit scoring.
During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, AB Bank is leveraging on these foundations to ensure business continuity, customer accessibility and safety. Digital savings were launched on eTumba as an immediate mitigation strategy for clients. Based on market research, the savings products are especially designed to fit the needs of women and geographically excluded communities. To promote digital services, savings and financial education in rural areas, AB Bank has launched eTumba savings buses, which travel across the country. Understanding that mobile messaging applications can be the right channel to reach out to clients, offer banking services and provide important information on financial products avoiding the health risks faced in crowded branches, AB Bank has developed a Chatbot to serve its customers in their favorite messaging apps. In addition, to improve field staff mobilization, AB Bank launched a staff engagement tool for internal communication, knowledge management and online learning.
In this Member Spotlight session, key staff of the bank will speak about their journey to become a customer-centric digital financial service provider dedicated to the needs of small-scale entrepreneurs and underserved client segments, typical obstacles along the way and how to remove them. To understand the impact on customers, a female entrepreneur customer is invited to speak about how working with AB Bank and the digital offerings have impacted her business, especially in times of the pandemic.
Host & Moderator
Matthew Gamser, CEO, SME Finance Forum.
Speakers
Thomas Engelhardt is the Chief Business Officer and member of the Management Board of Access Microfinance Holding AG. AccessHolding is the majority shareholder of eight small business banks Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caucasus. The group provides loans and other financial services to more than 1 million clients and employs more than 5,500 staff. Thomas has been with Access since its foundation in 2006.
Kayinja Mfuni is the Chief Operations Officer at AB Bank Zambia. Kayinja has over nine years extensive experience in MSME Finance. She was part of the team responsible for the establishment of the SME Department at AB Bank Zambia. She has held various positions related to SME Relationship Management and Finance. She currently heads the Operations Department of AB Bank where she is part of the team that is spearheading digital transformation of the Bank. She has a CA ZICA from the Zambian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Muze Syachaba is the Chief Business Officer at AB Bank Zambia. Muze is a seasoned Banking Professional with more than nine years’ experience, specializing in Micro & Agri Financing. She is passionate about financial inclusion among MSMEs, low-income households and small-scale farmers in Zambia. Among her notable achievements is being part of the pioneer team that established AB Bank Zambia where she has held several positions. She holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Zambia.
Cosmin Olteanu is the Chief Executive Officer at AB Bank Zambia. Cosmin has over 19 years’ experience in banking, IT and Project Management. He joined AccessHolding in 2006, where he occupied senior positions in business and from 2011 managed several complex IT projects at network level. He was also a Director in the Board of AccèsBanque Madagascar. Cosmin has an Executive Master in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and a certificate in Managing IT Projects from the George Washington University School of Business. He is currently enrolled in a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership program by MIT Executive Education, Columbia Business School Executive Education and Tuck Executive Education.
Marcus Hannappel is the fintech manager at AccessHolding. He is a Senior Digital Finance Expert and manages AB Bank Zambia’s mobile wallet eTumba. He is member of the Board of Directors of AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria since 2011. After joining AccessHolding in 2007, Marcus worked as Credit Advisor and Branch Manager in AccèsBanque Madagascar and as Chief Credit Officer / Deputy CEO in AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria. He also served on the Board of Directors of AccessBank Liberia for three years. Marcus holds a MSc. in Economics and is currently enrolled in a Professional Certificate Program in Digital Transformation at MIT Professional Education.
Women Entrepreneur Customer
Liliane M. Ndabaneze Chabuka is the Co-Founder and CEO of WidEnergy Africa Ltd. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and she has co-founded WidEnergy Africa Since September 2016. Passionate about women empowerment. Working hard every day in a male dominated industry, towards making women the champions in clean energy distribution and active agents for climate change. As CEO, Liliane oversees a dynamic multidisciplinary team with proven expertise in social entrepreneurship including solar products sales distribution, project management, supply chain, cost control, finance, business administration, monitoring and evaluation. As WidEnergy Africa CEO, Liliane has worked over the past four years, to contribute to her capacity development. She has shown excellent leadership skills and consistently managed the company's impact metrics. She always showed an engagement to improve the living conditions of people, especially women and girls.
Countries of work experience: USA, Burundi and Zambia.
A summary of the session will be posted soon!
Resources from the event
AB Bank Zambia slides
Customers Impact stories
Publication on digitalization and regulation
eTumba
www.etumba.com
https://www.facebook.com/eTumba.zm
https://www.linkedin.com/company/etumba/
https://www.instagram.com/etumba.zm/
AB Bank
www.abbank.co.zm
https://www.youtube.com/ABBankZambiaTV
https://www.facebook.com/abbankzm
https://www.linkedin.com/company/abbankzm/
https://www.instagram.com/abbankzm/
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For more information, please contact us at smefinanceforum@ifc.org
By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
En Foco: Digitalización de la base de la pirámide
¡Con traducción al Español!
Cuándo: 11 de Agosto - 8 a.m. Hora del Este de los Estados Unidos
En nuestro evento "En Foco" con nuestro miembro AccessHolding Group y AB Bank Zambia, ejecutivos del banco compartirán el camino recorrido para convertirse en un proveedor de servicios financieros digitales centrado en el cliente y en las necesidades de los pequeños empresarios, y nos contarán sobre los obstáculos típicos que surgen al servir a las PYMES.
Para comprender mejor el impacto de esta transformación en los clientes, AB Bank Zambia ha invitado a una mujer emprendedora cliente, quien compartirá cómo se ha beneficiado con los servicios digitales del banco, especialmente en tiempos de pandemia.
Un resumen de la presentación será publicado a la brevedad!
Si se perdió nuestra sesión, puede mirar el video en español aquí> vimeo.com/585975772
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public