Project profile — SME Growth, Employment Creation and Market Linkages Through Trade Finance

• Africa, regional (34.00%)
• America, regional (33.00%)
• Asia, regional (33.00%)

• Banking And Financial Services: Formal sector financial intermediaries (24030) (20.00%)
• Business And Other Services: Business support services and institutions (25010) (20.00%)
• Industry: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development (32130) (60.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (principal objective)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)

The project aims to help stimulate sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty by providing trade finance and technical assistance to micro - small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries. Trade finance is short-term financing with the purpose of enabling MSMEs to trade, both domestically and across borders. This project supports the launch of a trade finance investment fund that aims to leverage at least $45 million in private sector investment, which is designed to be lent to MSMEs, enabling them to overcome financial barriers to growth. Project activities include: (1) providing technical assistance to select trade finance funds and firms, as well as to recipient MSMEs in order to improve supply chain development, trade finance products, and environmental, social and governance standards, benefitting both women and men; (2) developing a system to measure the impact, by gender, on SMEs, small-scale suppliers and households to ensure that positive impacts, as a result of investments in the SME sector, are being felt at the individual level. This project is implemented in collaboration between the Mennonite Economic Development Associates, Sarona Asset Management and the University of Waterloo's School for Environment, Enterprise and Development.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) better financed SMEs provide jobs to women and men and offer market linkages to smallholder farmers (women and men); (2) SME trade finance firms support SMEs in environmental, social (especially gender) and governance areas; (3) and increased use of an enhanced impact measurement system specific to trade finance.

N/A

• Proactive disclosure