During the Global SME Finance Forum 2018, Georgina Baker, Vice President of IFC discussed the importance of formalizing SMEs and giving them access to finance to help the economy and formal sector grow. 

Baker explained, “If you [SMEs] are informal and don’t understand what banks require, you shy away and don’t get access to the money. It’s very important for us to find ways to bring informal SMEs into the banking system and help them get access.”

Various informality problems were addressed by Baker and she encouraged eradicating these issues to ensure safety of the economy. “If you can’t help SMEs get financed and provide jobs, the economy will shrink...Formalizing SMEs [and] giving them access to finance helps economies grow and helps the formal sector grow.” 

More than 600 attendees represented 208 institutions and 80 countries at the Forum. See event highlights, testimonials, other expert interviews, 13 TechPitches, session presentations and a recap of the Study Tour to 12 innovative financial institutions on the event website: https://globalsmefinanceforum.org/2018/