i
About this series
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) make a significant contribution to economic
growth and job creation across Asia and the Pacific. However, they often encounter difficulties in
accessing finance. Women-headed MSME's are particularly underserved by financial institutions due
to economic, regulatory and socio-cultural factors. In recent decades, governments and related
agencies have set up mechanisms to facilitate the flow of finance. The result has been an increase
in financial inclusion but the extent to which the financing gap has been reduced is not well known.
To gain more understanding about this issue, key questions need to be addressed, including the
following: Is finance still a constraint, including for certain classes of enterprises, such as medium-
sized ones? What mechanisms, such as credit guarantees, collateral support, and directed credit,
have been the most beneficial in closing the gap? Is there gender disparity in access to finance?
And are there public and/or private sector measures to overcome any existing regulatory,
normative and contextual barriers to women entrepreneurs' equal access to finance? How have
demand-side programmes, such as financial literacy, aided MSMEs? And how have FinTech and
digital finance helped to increase access to finance?
To seek answers to these and other important questions, the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) developed
A Framework for Country Studies on MSMEs Access to
Finance in Asia and the Pacific
. The Framework provided direction for the preparation of detailed
national studies on MSMEs’ access to finance in selected countries of Asia and the Pacific. The
studies were prepared by researchers and specialized consultants under the guidance of a lead
country agency with policy responsibilities in MSME financing. In some of the studies, an advisory
committee composed of representatives from departments, agencies, financial institutions, and
organizations involved in MSME promotion and financing provided direction and support to the
authors.
This series presents the Framework along with national studies that were prepared following its
guidelines. Each national study is expected to contribute, through policy analyses and
recommendations, to policy discussions on how to improve access to finance by MSMEs. The
preparation of national studies based on a common framework is also expected to facilitate
comparisons across countries to share experiences, identify good practices, and understand
common challenges.
Some of the studies contributed to ESCAP capacity building projects. The studies for Cambodia
and Nepal were funded by the United Nations Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation, and
the studies for Bangladesh and Samoa were funded by the Government of Canada, through Global
Affairs Canada, in the context of ESCAP’s Catalysing Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme. The
preparation of these four studies benefitted from a partnership between ESCAP and the United
Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). The latter contributed financial support for the Nepal
study through UNNATI-Access to Finance (A2F) Project funded by the Government of Denmark.
In addition to the country studies, the series includes two thematic studies on ways in which
commercial banks and digital technologies can contribute to improving access to finance by
MSMEs. These studies were prepared for the Global Initiative Towards the post-Covid-19
Resurgence of the MSME Sector, a joint United Nations Development Account project implemented
by multiple agencies.
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4138785
评论0
最新资源