Countries around the globe are still facing challenges in expanding access to finance for MSMEs.

There are over 65 million formal MSMEs that are credit constrained, representing 40 percent of all enterprises surveyed in 128 countries from emerging economies. Additionally, over 70% of women-led MSMEs globally are either financially unserved or underserved.

AFI members have been able to address some of the access to finance barriers by applying progressive policies and regulations that have created enabling environments for MSMEs. This wealth of knowledge was then collated and codified by the SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG) to form this report. The objective of this policy model is to guide members through a set of principles for developing or reviewing their MSME finance policies.