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Global SME Finance Forum
8-10 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 Content Collaborator 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. Discussions will focus on the growth of AI as a tool for SMEs to move toward sustainability goals and address financial inclusion challenge.
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
2024 forum themes
The agenda provides a holistic view on SME finance with coverage on the following themes
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AgriFinance and the role of AgTech and
climate-smart solutions
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Digital, FinTech solutions and role of
embedded finance
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Supply chain finance, the deep tiers, sustainable
and digitally enabled solutions
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Sustainable finance solutions for SMEs,
reporting, products, and capital markets
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Women's entrepreneurship finance,
gender-disaggregated data, products
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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)
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Aria Widyanto
Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer, Amartha
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Chioma K Ogwo
Head of Emerging Businesses, Access Bank
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Jane Prokop
Executive Vice President, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mastercard
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João Henrique Tosin
CEO & Co-Founder, Celero
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Manu Rajan
Division CEO, Wing
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Ketan Gaikwad
Managing Director and CEO, Receivables Exchange Of India Limited
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Marcela Pinori
Executive Director of Commercial Solutions in Brazil, Visa
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Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari
Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana
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Megan Rapp
Managing Director, Office of Small Business and Financial Services, DFC
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Melis Özdeğirmenci
Senior Vice President of SME Marketing, Akbank T.A.Ş.
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Mohamed Gouled
Vice President, Industries, IFC
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Patrick Reily
Co-Founder, Uplinq
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Qamar Saleem
Global Head, SME Finance Forum
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Rajeev Chalisgaonkar
Head of Business Banking and NeoBiz, Mashreq Bank
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Sandy Kemper
Founder & Chairman, C2FO
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Shanker Ramamurthy
Global Managing Partner for Banking and Financial Markets, IBM
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Sopnendu Mohanty
Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Group Chief Executive Officer - Designate, GFTN
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
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"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
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"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
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"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