Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises' access to finance in Bangladesh

This research is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through bilateral stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions with MSME finance stakeholders including at an expert group meeting. Findings were also presented and validated by an advisory committee and at a national stakeholder consultation workshop with 60+ delegates organized by ESCAP and the Government of Bangladesh and held in Dhaka on 10 December 2019

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises' access to finance in Samoa

This study analyses the supply and demand of financial services for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Samoa, as well as the policy and regulatory frameworks in place and/or needed to better enable MSMEs to access and use financial services. The study also undertakes a gender lens analysis to determine the gender-specific constraints faced by Samoan entrepreneurs to access and use financial services. The main recommendations of the study are (i) an integrated training program for MSMEs, (ii) a collateral shortfall partial guarantee scheme; and (iii) technical assistance to the Development Bank of Samoa

Is fin-tech the new panacea for poverty alleviation and local development? Contesting Suri and Jack’s M-Pesa findings published in Science

Financial technology, or simply ‘fin-tech’, is increasingly seen as one of the key tools to facilitate poverty reduction and local economic development. One article in particular by Tavneet Suri and William Jack published in the leading publication Science has played a hugely influential role in promoting the fin-tech model in the global South using the example of Kenya’s iconic M-Pesa money transfer platform. The authors’ central claim is that M-Pesa has been instrumental in facilitating a major episode of poverty reduction. Our analysis shows that their analysis and claims are extremely problematic

Building urban economic resilience during and after covid-19 : Asia-Pacific regional policy brief

The following regional policy brief has been produced as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific's (ESCAP) contribution to the global project, "Building urban economic resilience during and after COVID-19". The brief is built upon the evidence-based diagnostic assessment of the resilience of the urban economies of the 4 pilot cities within the Asia-Pacific region, namely Hoi An (Viet Nam), Pune (India), Subang Jaya (Indonesia), and Suva (Fiji). Urban resilience has been measured across 5 dimensions: labour market; economic governance; business environment; financial environment; and infrastructure and connectivity. Part I of the brief describes the "Building urban economic resilience during and after COVID-19" project. Part II defines the elements of the Diagnostic Planning Tool that was used to assess the financial and economic resilience of the pilot cities. Part III provides a short summary of the results of the diagnostic assessment for each city with respect to each dimension, and ends with a synthesis of the major trends and emerging issues. Part IV discusses the challenges and limitations of building urban economic and financial resilience in the region and provides policy recommendations across all dimensions