The GPFI’s stocktaking of data available on financing for SMEs, both at the country level and at the client level of the major international development finance institutions, reveals serious gaps.  Annual aggregate data is captured annually for only a minority of the world’s countries by the IMF, OECD, and others. Little if any data is available at a country level on financing for women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs or other key segments of interest to GPFI’s Financial Inclusion Action Plan.  Data collected by the IFIs and DFIs is uncoordinated, inconsistent and usually incompatible with national SME definitions and reporting requirements to financial sector regulators. Despite recognition of the importance of data for sound policymaking in SME financing and financial inclusion in general, there is much room for improvement.

In this publication, you will learn how the G20 countries could play an important role in spurring greater coordination and harmonization at both levels of data collection and dissemination.

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Acknowledgments: This document is a product of the SME Finance Forum. It was prepared by Minerva Kotei and Yangyang Zhou under the guidance of Matthew Gamser. The report was requested by the G-20 following the submission of a Concept Paper, by the SME Finance Forum and the Financial Alliance for Women, to the SME Finance Subgroup to promote the enhancement and coordination of SME Finance data, including gender-disaggregated data.