Advancing small businesses’ access to finance: AFI’s SME Finance Working Group meets in Honduras

From 22 to 25 April, members of AFI’s SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG) gathered in Honduras for four days of peer exchange and collaboration.

39 Working Group members from 37 institutions participated in the meeting, which was co-hosted with the National Commission of Banks and Insurance of Honduras.

“This week has been incredibly productive, especially with the introduction of a working group ‘marketplace’, which allows members to share their country-specific needs with technical experts,” said AFI Senior Policy Manager, Nik Kamarun.

“In addition to discussing recent policy updates, our Working Group explored how MSME access to finance can be advanced through supply and demand-side interventions which include data, digital financial services, partial credit guarantees schemes, advisory services and inclusive green finance, to name but a few.”

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, and our Working Group will continue to do everything in its power to promote their access to finance, nationally, regionally and globally.”

Five Working Group members received recognition awards:

• Subgroup Deliverable Champion: Audrey Chetty, Central Bank of Seychelles
• Peer Reviewer: Omar Enrique Colindres Velásquez, Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros de Honduras
• Knowledge Product Dissemination: Ana Idalia Portillo Cueva, Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador
• In Country Implementation: Andrew John, Reserve Bank of Vanuatu
• Most active new member: Shereen Farouk Dahab, Central Bank of Egypt

You can learn more about the work of the SME Finance Working Group on its homepage.