Each year a working group of staff from both the Development Finance Institutions and the International Finance Institutions gather to exchange knowledge and experience on how to promote finance to SMEs in emerging markets. This year’s meeting was jointly organized by the SME Finance Forum and the Dutch Development Bank FM0 and we were honored to have a KeyNote address by HM Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
A panel that included GBA’s Inez Murray, IFC’s Andrew McCartney and FMO’s Marijan Wiersma gathered to discuss how the IFIs and DFIs could best support banks to develop Women’s Market programs. Inez Murray shared the value proposition that GBA banks are offering and the contribution that that is making to their bottom line. This helped the audience understand that there is a model and that it is ripe for replication. Andrew McCartney laid out some of the challenges banks face in offering such a value proposition as well as key ways the IFC is using to encourage banks to do so. Marijan Wiersma explained that FMO’s gender agenda is embedded in their sustainable banking efforts but acknowledged that a more focused approach was indeed warranted. All of the major IFIs and DFIs were present, giving GBA a great platform to promote Best Practice.
