Global SME Finance Forum

15 - 17 September 2025 | Johannesburg, South Africa
The Global SME Finance Forum is the leading conference on SME financing. Its 2024 edition was themed "AI-powered Digital and Sustainable SME Finance", and brought together financial executives, fintechs, development banks, and experts.

Global SME Finance Forum

GFTN is honoured to be a Strategic Partner for the Global SME Finance Forum (GSMEFF), the SME Finance Forum’s annual flagship event. 

It convenes global & regional banks, fintechs, big-techs, e-commerce players, multilaterals, development finance institutions, credit guarantee corporations, banking associations, SME associations, microfinance institutions, non-bank financial institutions, central banks, academia, training providers, think tanks, investors, trade platforms, ministries, G20 counterparts to catalyze and scale SME finance.

It will feature a series of thought-provoking speakers and interactive panels that will explore the digital and sustainable transitions taking place in the SME finance sector. 

Join us at the Global SME Finance Forum 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa

About the Forum

The Global SME Finance Forum (GSMEFF) is hosted by the SME Finance Forum, a network of over 300 leading banks, non-banking financial institutions, fintechs and development banks, created by the G20 in 2012 and managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

The Forum’s objective is to scale SME finance for job creation and economic growth. As the leading SME finance network globally, GSMEFF steers industry innovations, support replication of best practices, steer policy advocacy, and foster global knowledge transfer. The organisers also power the Forum's global peer learning membership network by connecting them with relevant partners, investors and policymakers.  This year’s event is organised in partnership with the Brazilian G20 Presidency, the Brazilian Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business (MEMP), with support from Brazil Development Bank (BNDES) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Organised by

 

SME Finance Forum
Managed by IFC

Insights from the Global SME Finance Forum 2024

2024 forum themes

The agenda provided a holistic view on SME finance with coverage on the following themes

Agri finance
AgriFinance and the role of AgTech and
climate-smart solutions
Embedded Finance
Digital, FinTech solutions and role of
embedded finance
Supply chain finance
Supply chain finance, the deep tiers, sustainable
and digitally enabled solutions
Sustainable finance
Sustainable finance solutions for SMEs,
reporting, products, and capital markets
Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance (1)
Women's entrepreneurship finance,
gender-disaggregated data, products 
Risk Mitigation
Risk mitigation, climate risk, insurance, risk
sharing, credit guarantee schemes

Featured 2024 speakers

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Alexandre Magnani

CEO, Pagbank

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Alfonso Garcia Mora

Vice President Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Jane_Prokop_

Jane Prokop

Executive Vice President, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mastercard

Márcio Luiz França Gomes

Márcio Luiz França Gomes

Minister of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business of Brazil

Mohamed Gouled

Mohamed Gouled

Vice President, Industries, IFC

Myriam Etile

Myriam Etile

Global Head of SMB Insights, Visa Commercial Solutions, Visa

Paolo Sironi

Paolo Sironi

IBM Global Research Leader, Banking and Financial Markets, IBM

Qamar Saleem_

Qamar Saleem

Global Head, SME Finance Forum

Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams

Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams

Minister of Small Business Development, Republic of South Africa

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Paytm

See what others have said about the forum

"The SME Finance Forum’s annual conference meets a critical need in the SME financing world: the need to bring together top decision-makers in a truly thoughtful way, where the International Finance Corporation’s deep knowledge of players can be leveraged to help participants zero in on the partners who can best meet their needs. In most conferences, the search for the right partner is a “needle in a haystack” exercise. Not so at the Finance Forum, and therein lies the magic. "

 
Jane Prokop 

Executive Vice President, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mastercard

Jane Prokop
rajeev chalisgaonkar (1)

"I’ve been blown away by the quality of speakers, the seniority, and the level of thinking.
It’s very 
clear that if you’re interested in SME Finance, if you’re interested in being part of this global opportunity to change things for small business, this is the place 
to be."

 

Rajeev Chalisgaonkar
EVP, Head of Business Banking & Neobiz

SAndy Kemper (1)

"This is my sixth or seventh Annual Meeting I have attended, and I can see the change. Five years back, some of the same people were talking about ideas they were trying out. Now they are talking about successful, profitable business they are running based on those ideas. It is quite gratifying to see that shift happening.'

Sandy Kemper 
Founder & CEO, C2FO, USA 

Almutasem Alkhateeb (1)

"Beyond expectation! I had the privilege to attend the Global SME Finance Forum today in Mumbai, India. It was enriching and epic in a meaningful way – we jumped from one session to another with an enthusiastic mindset toward the next discussion session without feeling overwhelmed."


Almutasem Alkhateeb
 

Business Development Manager, Kafalah, Saudi Arabia

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