EVENEMENTS
Oct.
26
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Oct. 26, 2021
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2021-10-25 20:00:00
2021-10-25 20:00:00
BEYOND THE KNOW 2021 Online Conference - A collaborative, transformative Community of Practice on entrepreneurship and MSME development
IFC's Beyond the Known Conference 2021 (BTK) aims to bring together a diverse range of practitioners in the field of entrepreneurship and MSME promotion to foster a global community of practice and to facilitate exchange and peer learning on the latest developments and on the effective solutions that are being piloted in this domain.
Jointly hosted by ILO, BMZ/GIZ, EBRD, IFC, Swisscontact and Argidius Foundation the upcoming second edition of the BTK conference will be held online on 26 - 27 - 28 October 2021 (from 10h to 13h, CET time).
On the first day, the BTK conference will see the participation of keynote speakers from the entrepreneurial domain including: David Mackenzie (World Bank Lead Economist), Irene Ochem (CEO/ Founder of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) and Bagoré Bathily (Entrepreneur and owner of “La Laiterie du Berger”). The talk show panel with these speakers will be moderated by Parminder Vir (Co-founder of Support4AfricaSMEs).
The two following days will be dedicated to tested and successful solutions in entrepreneurship promotion and MSME development submitted by practitioners as part of a Call4Solutions. These solutions will respond to the challenges and opportunities on three main tracks:
Track 1: Achieving Dynamic and Resilient Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
This track aims to: showcase different ways productive entrepreneurial communities have grown; show participants that ecosystems are everywhere, even if they are at an early stage; and spark ideas and connections for participants to nurture ecosystems that enable entrepreneurs to succeed and generate employment.
Track 2: Accelerating MSME access to financial services through new technologies and skills development program
This track aims to: showcase best practices regarding effective combinations of financial and NFS or business development support services; reflect on the role of new technologies and tools in this domain, and debate on local skills and training-support programs needed in emerging markets.
Track 3: Challenging inclusiveness and environmental sustainability in entrepreneurship promotion
This track aims to: critically reflect on different ways of doing entrepreneurship promotion to achieve more concrete impacts on equality and environmental sustainability. If we keep promoting entrepreneurship the way it is being done, aren't we contributing to the depletion of natural resources and to an unequal society?
Find more information on the event and the Call4Solutions here.
Links to the hosts:
ILO: https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm
BMZ/GIZ: https://www.bmz.de/en
EBRD: https://www.ebrd.com/home
IFC: https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_ext_content/ifc_external_corpor...
Swisscontact: https://www.swisscontact.org/en?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIofDRt4O58gIVkpOzCh3YPA...
Argidius Foundation: https://www.argidius.com/en/home/
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
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Oct.
26
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Oct. 26, 2021
WebEx
Add to Calendar
2021-10-25 20:00:00
2021-10-25 20:00:00
BTK2021 – Beyond the Known Conference
The Beyond the Known conference is an informal community of practice bringing together a diverse range of practitioners working in the field of MSME promotion. It aims at sharing new and innovative solutions in the field of entrepreneurship and enterprise development. The event has a unique focus to facilitate peer learning and exchange of experiences among MSME development practices.
IFC will host three Solutions sessions under Track 2 that are highly relevant to the ecosystem, especially (M)SMEs, IFIs and FIs, showcasing two external institutions and one internal best practice.
The registration deadline has been extended to 24 October 2021. Learn more about the conference and join the event ASAP here>
WebEx
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Oct.
18
SME FINANCE FORUM
Conference
Oct. 18, 2021
Virtual
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2021-10-17 20:00:00
2021-10-17 20:00:00
2021 Global SME Finance Forum Event
While significant progress has been made in driving the growth of green finance, little of this has touched SMEs. This is despite the fact that SMEs, just as they contribute substantially to jobs creation and economies, also cumulatively account for significant amounts of environmental and social problems.
This year’s Global SME Finance Forum focused not only on the importance of greening SME finance and its role in promoting a more resilient and sustainable growth of the SMEs post-COVID-19 but also addressed some of the key issues and challenges especially on greenwashing, data benchmarking, and verification and misalignment between supply and demand.
Virtual
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Oct.
18
SME FINANCE FORUM
Annual Conference
Oct. 18, 2021
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2021-10-17 20:00:00
2021-10-17 20:00:00
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
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Oct.
18
SME FINANCE FORUM
Annual Conference
Oct. 18, 2021
Online
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2021-10-17 20:00:00
2021-10-17 20:00:00
Global SME Finance Forum 2021: Greening SME Finance
Global SME Finance Forum 2021 is Now Open for Registration!
Visit the event website to learn more> www.globalsmefinanceforum.org/2021/
Theme: Greening SME Finance
Date: October 18th to 21st
The Global SME Finance Forum is the largest, most technically in-depth, and geographically diverse conference on SME financing hosted around the world each year. Last year, as COVID-19 ushered the world unexpectedly, we decided to move our panels online and build a virtual community. Our event attracted over 2600 registrations from 1000+ commercial banks, development finance institutions, fintech companies, and regulators from 150+ countries, which broke our record for the number of registrations. This year, though we are still apart, we aim to build an even larger community while keeping everyone safe. Therefore, we decided to continue to hold our annual conference virtually.
The virtual edition of the 2021 Global SME Finance Forum will be held over four consecutive days on October 18-21, 2021. This year, the conference will convene global thought leaders, climate finance advocators, leading experts, and practitioners in the field of SME finance to share their visions, insights, and experiences in promoting green finance for SMEs. In addition to the in-depth discussion of how green finance would influence the development of agrifinance, supply chain finance, and tourism, the conference will also include special regional sessions focusing primarily on the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
The 4-day conference will use the latest technology to emulate the in-person experience, providing for one-on-one networking, sponsors booths, breakout sessions, fireside chats, and panel discussions, as well as the recognition of the 2021 Global SME Finance Awards winners. By going virtual, we can also offer on-demand content for those who cannot attend the sessions live due to work or personal commitments.
By organizing virtual COVID-19 Roundtables, Member Spotlights, and Monthly Webinars throughout the past year, we have demonstrated that we are adapting to the current circumstances, going from one webinar/month to more than once per week, and at the same time significantly expanding our website content for both members and the general public. During this year’s event, we’ll continue to provide you with the same high standard of SME finance knowledge sharing and networking you’re accustomed to from the SME Finance Forum – from the comfort of your own home.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Global SME Finance Forum 18-21 October. Please join us for a new and exciting digital journey.
Don’t wait - Register* before the end of September to get a 40% off early bird rate at
Or click here> http://bit.ly/SMEFF21Registration.
*By registering to this event, you agree to the SME Finance Forum/IFC Event Privacy Notice.
Members, Partners, Media and World Bank/IFC staff will receive the invitation via email with a dedicated link and special code to register free.
Stay tuned for more updates to come!
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Previous Conferences
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
Online
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public
Oct.
13
SME FINANCE FORUM
Event
Oct. 13, 2021
WebEx
Add to Calendar
2021-10-12 20:00:00
2021-10-12 20:00:00
Reuters Events Webinar: Access to Trade Finance for SMEs in the Digital Era
Pre-pandemic, the global trade finance gap was estimated to be 1.5 trillion USD. As we assess the extent to which this has been exacerbated by Covid-19, one thing is evident – digital solutions will play a key part in combating the challenges facing the industry. In particular, there is huge potential for technology to reduce the barriers to entry for SMEs, who face disproportionate difficulties in accessing the financing they require.
To discover how world-leading banks and fintechs are developing digitally-enabled solutions to narrow the trade finance gap, join Reuters Events for their free webinar, From Surviving to Thriving: Access to Trade Finance for SMEs in the digital era, taking place Wednesday 13 October 2021, 13:00 BST).
Here are some key learning takeaways:
What has been the true impact of disruption caused by Covid-19 on the SME trade financing landscape? Mapping key challenges and assessing their extent
Leveraging networks and orchestrating an open ecosystem to reduce friction, lower costs and increase efficiency using blockchain technology
How machine learning and AI can offer empowered, predictive analytical techniques for businesses to extract value from their data
The role of NFTs, digital currencies and other bleeding edge technologies
Our CEO, Matthew Gamser, will attend the event as the main guest speaker.
Register now to secure your place! Can’t make it? All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar.
WebEx
SME FINANCE FORUM
ronyg@panapps.co
America/New_York
public