Learn more about programs and projects, aimed at carrying forward the work of the G20 on financial inclusion.  The initiatives are ably supported by the GPFI implementing partners.

Global SME Finance Innovation Program

In September 2009, G20 Leaders in Pittsburgh made a joint commitment “to improving access to financial services for the poor.  To advance this goal, the G20 launched a Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) with two sub-groups, one focusing on households (Access through Innovation Sub-Group) and the other focusing on SME financing (SME Finance Sub-Group).

IFC was nominated as expert advisor of the SME Finance Sub-Group leading an effort to:

• conduct a stocktaking exercise on global SME finance mechanisms to come up with a set of policy recommendations on scaling up SME finance;
   
• support the launch of the G20 SME Finance Challenge;
   
• establish a Global SME Finance Innovation Program to help implement a funding platform for eligible winners of the Challenge as part of a broader Global SME Financing Framework to scale up SME finance;
   
• establish an SME Finance Forum to address the need for knowledge management center for SME finance. 

G20 SME Finance Challenge was launched by G20 in June 2010.  The objective of the Challenge was to identify groundbreaking models for public-private partnerships to catalyze SME financing on a sustainable basis.  The Challenge recieved 356 entries by its close in early September 2010. Fourteen winners were chosen by a panel of 5 independent and 3 G20 judges. US President Barack Obama, Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper congratulated the winners in person and announced this stupendous funding commitment at the closing of the G20 Seoul Summit.  Read more about the SME Finance Challenge here

The general objective of the Global SME Finance Innovation Program is to establish a platform to provide grant funding to support the winning proposals of the Challenge.  By acting as an implementing entity for the grants of the SME Finance innovation Fund, IFC seeks to have a direct development impact in promising models that seek to unlock private financing for SMEs.

An SME Financing Framework is being created to provide a flexible structure to mobilize funding through existing and new instruments from donors, International Financial Institutions and Development Financial Institutions and the private sector in a coordinated manner for the winning proposals and other successful financing models.

In March 2011, the Global SME Finance Innovation Trust Fund was established at IFC with initial donor contributions from Canada to fund the winning proposals of the Challenge through grants. Additional donor contributions are expected by 2012. This Trust Fund makes donor funding available under the Program for (i) technical assistance for capacity building, research and training, and (ii) grants.

"IFC is taking the lead in structuring and facilitating the SME Innovation Finance Fund because we understand the crucial role these businesses play in development,” said IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Lars Thunell. “We look forward to the announcement of additional commitments to the SME Innovation Finance Fund, and we stand ready to expand our commitment to the G20 SME Finance agenda in conjunction with other partner organizations.”

The SME Finance Forum was officially launched in April 2012. The Forum is a collaborative knowledge sharing platform for data, research and best practices for small and medium enterprise (SME) finance.  It promotes the dissemination of good practice guidance to agencies, donors and regional networks to improve the effectiveness of the industry. It offers tools for policy makers and funders to share knowledge and build networks to encourage innovation and promote scaling-up of successful SME finance models. 

Read more about the G20 SME Finance Challenge winners

Discover stories about creative solutions and the G20 commitment to supporting SMEs globally

Read more about the SME Finance Forum