26 May 2016

Closing Remarks by Mrs. Yunita Resmi Sari at SMEFWG Meeting in Mongolia

6th AFI SME FINANCE WORKING GROUP MEETING — Closing Remarks By SMEFWG Chair, Mrs. Yunita Resmi Sari, Ulaanbaatar, 26 May 2016. Check quotes against delivery.

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Members of the AFI SME Finance Working Group, Our friends from FRC of Mongolia

Mr. Hannig and members of the AFI Management Unit Good afternoon.

Firstly, I would like to express our gratitude to the institutions that have made this meeting successful, including:

The Financial Regulatory Commission of Mongolia and The Alliance for Financial Inclusion, for convening this 6th AFI SME Finance Working Group Meeting, and bringing together such a diverse representation of eminent stakeholders. Special thanks to our manager, Maria for exquisitely preparing the meeting agenda. Thank you FRC for the meeting arrangements, including the field visit, dinner, and especially your hospitality.
More importantly my appreciation goes to all members of SMEF Working Group for coming and actively participating at this event, discussing the working group knowledge products and several interesting and strategic issues on SME financing. Your contribution and participation and your presence clearly shows your support for SME financing as an important component of financial inclusion to promote an inclusive and sustainable economic development and help shaping the global thinking on policy priorities for SME Finance.

During this meeting we have discussed several topics and come to agreement on some important issues. Allow me to highlight some of them:

Knowledge products for 2016

We have agreed to merge “The role of financial regulators in SMEs finance” and “The SME finance policy catalogue”. This is to avoid overlapping as these knowledge products are closely related.

This combined publication will provide detailed information on policy and initiatives for SME financing in working group member countries included key areas such as:

Legislation and laws
Subsidized credit and refinancing scheme
Financial infrastructure
Capacity building and financial education
Data collection

This knowledge product will also feature several case studies from member countries to facilitate a more comprehensive peer learning for all members and beyond.

Regarding the knowledge product “SME Finance Basic Terminology” we have agreed to create a new version which focuses on the definition of SMEs adopted in each country, as well as regionally, and will add analysis on the criteria we have chosen and how it relates to macroeconomic indicators. This project will be led by BSP and Bank of Bangladesh.

Thus, our goal is to publish “The SME Finance Policy Catalogue” during 2016 and see “The SME Definition Glossary” released in 2017.

Maya Commitment and Maputo Accord

During 2015 GPF meeting in Maputo, 29 countries signed up for the Maputo accord and agreed to make specific SME finance commitments, however, so far only 7 countries have made such commitments. Currently there are 19 commitments, including 6 new policy commitments made by Bank of Negara Malaysia. During this meeting we have discussed the possible commitments that can be endorsed by SME Finance members. This working group is looking forward to have more concrete commitment from more members set in Fiji.

Topics to be covered in Fiji:

As we look towards September and the upcoming Global Policy Forum we took some time to think about the issues that we could bring to Fiji and further explore. The following subjects were suggested:

Agricultural for SME which focus on specific regulation in Africa (Kenya and Senegal).
Regulation on digital finance for SMEs focusing on P2P and B2B.
Case studies on gender policy from Bangladesh

I am looking forward to speaking more about these issues in September.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The topics we have discussed during our meetings have been interesting and important for broadening our view in SME financing policy. We have learned about the country experience of Mongolia in improving financial inclusion and its focus on access, literacy and protection.

We have also heard about Mongolia’s SME financing efforts through guarantee funds and the development of agricultural commodity.

We learned about the experiences of the Philippines and India in developing agricultural finance. From the discussions we have recognized the importance of agricultural sector in the economy, employment, and income distribution. Here, financial authorities can take a big role in enhancing agricultural financing using approaches such as providing incentives for banks, promoting value chain financing to minimize risk, digitizing markets and taking a role in supporting development from up-stream to down-stream.

The experience of Mexico incorporating innovative digital payments in the value chain was discussed. We learned about the implemented guarantee program and productive chain program that allows small suppliers to make use of their receivable accounts to create liquidity. And we saw the potential of using electronic transaction to help small suppliers acquire wider financial services from banks and transactions.

With regards to assessment on financial stability and SME financing, the important question that needs to be answered is how we can make data available so that it can be properly reviewed and used. This issue is particularly relevant with regard to the support of women lead entrepreneurships.

One thing I know we can all agree on is that during these two and half days we have made some notable progress on our work in SME finance working group, and we have had a wonderful and memorable experience here in Mongolia.

On that note, again please allow me to convey my deepest appreciation for your valuable contribution. Thank you, muchos gracias, sukriya terima kasih spasiba, merci beaucoup and bayarn lak.

I wish you have a safe flight home and look forward to seeing you all in Fiji for the 2016 Global Policy Forum.