Washington D.C March 2023 – MEDA joins the SME Finance Forum as the newest member of our global membership network. Our members are SME financing experts from 80+ countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.
“Since 2016, we’ve been implementing our mission to build a global membership to support better SME financing, and since then, we’ve established a network with over 240 active member institutions, which operate in over 190 countries sharing the common purpose of helping under-served enterprises. We are delighted to welcome MEDA, which itself has worked in over 70 countries worldwide,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the SME Finance Forum.
For 70 years, MEDA – Mennonite Economic Development Associates – has been creating business solutions to poverty that are sustainable, measurable and scalable. An international economic development organization, MEDA has worked in over 70 countries and brings a unique market systems approach to project design that integrates technical assistance and access to capital. As an early leader in innovative finance, MEDA leverages public and private funding to advance social enterprises around the world that are positively impacting social, environmental and governance challenges in their communities. They work in agri-food market systems, focusing primarily on women and youth in rural communities in the Global South. SMEs are the main drivers of job creation, and MEDA helps them gain access to finance, allowing them to grow and consolidate their business models.
“By becoming a member of the SME Finance Forum, MEDA looks forward to engaging and partnering with its members to find innovative ways to provide access to finance in the agri-food ecosystem in emerging markets for long-term sustainable decent job creation by SMEs – the engines of economic growth and social development,” says Dorothy Nyambi, CEO & President, MEDA.
About SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge center for data, research, and best practice in promoting SME finance. As an implementing partner for the GPFI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was tasked with managing the initiative. The Forum operates a global membership network of +240 members that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs.
Discover the SME Finance Forum members:
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list
About MEDA
MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) is an international economic development organization founded in 1953 whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty. MEDA combines innovative financial and technical expertise to build and enhance sustainable agri-food systems that provide decent work for people experiencing poverty in the Global South, focusing on systemically marginalized communities, including women and youth.
Learn more:
Website: https://www.meda.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mennonite-economic-development-associates-meda-/
