SME Finance

SME Banking is a young and growing industry in transition. From a market that was considered too risky and costly to serve, it has now become a strategic target of banks and other financial institutions worldwide. Many banks moved “downstream” to serve SMEs and are now dominant players in their markets. Some growing microfinance institutions have also moved “upstream” to enter the SME market.

We offer assistance to financial institutions in:

• Green-fielding. We provide technical assistance in setting up SME banking operations in a newly-established financial institution.
• Downscaling. We assist a commercial bank, looking to engage into SME banking, in implementing SME lending operations and expanding services to SMEs beyond credit offering.
• Upscaling. We assist a microfinance institution, planning to enter the SME sector, in implementing SME lending operations.
• Strengthening SME banking operations. We support a financial institution, which is engaged in SME banking in strengthening its competitiveness, increase its market share and/or improve its SME business lines performance by refining SME banking strategies, systems, product offering, policies, processes and procedures, and training SME officers.