Groundbreaking Ways to Get More Finance to SMEs Worldwide

The SME Finance Challenge was born to identify and fund innovative initiatives that help grow local businesses in developing markets.  It came together as a result of Ashoka, the White House, Rockefeller Foundation, the World Bank and several other of the world's leading institutions.

Most of the winners of the SME Finance Challenge were announced recently at the G20 summit -- and one winner is Peace Dividend Trust with a mission to:

Making peace and humanitarian operations more effective, efficient and equitable so that they deliver cheaper, faster, smarter missions - resulting in a stronger peace and a larger peace dividend. 

Learn more here about their fascinating approach to get more money to SMEs worldwide and change the way aid and peacekeeping is delivered.

Illustration credit from Peace Dividend Trust.

Posted by:  The Global Small Business Blog

Global SMEs Drive Innovation and Competition

Did you know?

Small and medium enterprises (also SMEs, small and medium businesses, SMBs, and variations thereof) are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.

More importantly:

In many sectors, SMEs are also responsible for driving innovation and competition. Globally SMEs account for 99% of business numbers and 40% to 50% of GDP.

The term small and medium businesses or SMBs is predominantly used in the USA.

Read the official Wikipedia definition of an SME here. I like the global flavor to the piece.

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog