UfM Conference on MSME finance during and after COVID-19 – “Resilience and Innovation in the wake of COVID-19”
Economic Development and Employment
23 June 2021 (10h00- 13h30) – The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is organizing, in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a conference on MSME Finance During and After the Pandemic: Resilience and Innovation During COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to MSMEs in the Mediterranean region, especially when it comes to securing access to finance. MSMEs are the backbone of most economies worldwide. Globally, they account for 9 out of 10 business enterprises, half of the GDP and two-thirds of all jobs. Access to finance is frequently identified as a critical barrier to growth for MSMEs; according to research the MSME finance gap in emerging economies is estimated at approximately $5 trillion – 1.3 times the current level of MSME lending.
This digital conference will take place on 23 June 2021. The conference objective is to raise awareness among stakeholders from the region of promising new approaches and initiatives with the potential to overcome this crisis. By bringing together market practitioners, international financial institutions and policymakers, the UfM conference aims to stimulate mutual learning and cross-fertilization.
