The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Mastercard Impact Fund, administered by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, announced a landmark partnership to promote financial inclusion and access for MSMEs across the Asia-Pacific region.
The collaboration will leverage a $5-million grant from the Mastercard Impact Fund to support up to $1 billion of ADB financing to financial institutions for lending toward micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
"MSMEs are the backbone of economies across Asia and the Pacific, yet many struggle to obtain adequate finance," said ADB Vice-President for Market Solutions Bhargav Dasgupta. "By combining the resources and expertise of ADB and Mastercard, this facility will unlock the potential of MSMEs, particularly those run by women or supporting climate finance, empowering businesses and fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the region.”
Jon Huntsman, Vice Chairman of Mastercard and Board Director of the Mastercard Impact Fund, remarked, “This partnership deepens the work we’re doing in the Asia-Pacific region to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, which are the lifeblood of communities and economies. By bolstering resilience to climate and economic shocks, we are putting more people, communities and entrepreneurs on the path to financial inclusion and prosperity.”
The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 52 percent of the total emerging market MSME financing gap globally, which is estimated at nearly $2.5 trillion. In this region, 43 percent of formal SMEs are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions.
Additionally, 70 percent of women-owned MSMEs face significant challenges in securing financial support. Harvard Business Review reported that in 2018, only 4 percent of total investment funds went to all-women businesses - going down to 2 percent, by 2021. The volume of transactions involving all-female businesses remained stagnant, at just 6 percent.
The Mastercard Impact Fund aims to accelerate ADB's efforts to deliver financing to MSMEs across Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, by providing a $5-million grant in the form of risk-reducing capital, incentives and capacity building support to financial institutions. The mitigation of credit risk and technical assistance support is expected to catalyse lending by financial institutions, toward unserved or underserved MSMEs.
In the Philippines, MSMEs account for 99 percent of all business establishments and employ roughly 63 percent of the country’s workforce. However, despite being considered the economic backbone of the country, many MSMEs remain financially excluded. This sector is among the underserved segments by financial institutions, underpinning the need for increased MSME support.
Ari Sarker, President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard added, “Despite their long-established significance to economies, MSMEs continue to be challenged by access to credit - the fundamental resource which can catalyze growth for them and their economies. For growth to be truly inclusive, closing the MSME funding gap needs to be a core focus for both public and private sectors. This partnership is a meaningful step in that direction.”
