Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are crucial for global economies, accounting for over two-thirds of employment and playing a vital role in job creation and economic resilience. However, they face persistent financing gaps that hinder their potential for inclusive growth.
To address these challenges, the Global SME Finance Forum, the SME Finance Forum’s annual flagship event organised with Strategic Partner Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) will convene a diverse network of financial institutions, fintechs, and multilaterals to explore strategies for enhancing SME access to finance, driving innovation, and aligning growth with SDGs through thought-provoking discussions and interactive panels.
Organised by



In collaboration with

2025 Themes

G20 MSME Action Plan: Financing and Policy Enablers

Digital Innovation: Powering SME Growth and Global Competitiveness

Empowering SMEs in Sustainability, Resilience and Growth
Highlights from the 2024 Forum
2024 in Numbers

1200
participants

240
institutions

60
countries

80
sessions
2025 Forum Overview

VIP Dinner (Invitation Only)
Join us for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of Perth's world-class supercomputing facilities. This is a rare opportunity to see the sheer power of advanced computation firsthand and understand its transformative potential. Experience the technology that is driving breakthroughs across AI, climate modeling, and blockchain.
FutureMatters Stage
Insights Roundtables
Deep Dive Workshops
Boardroom Discussions, Breakfast & Lunch Briefings
Industry Networking Event
Members’ Meeting
Study Tours
Innovation Hubs
Members’ Workshops and Trainings
What Attendees Say About the Forum
The SME Finance Forum’s annual conference meets a critical need in the SME financing world: the need to bring together top decision-makers in a truly thoughtful way, where the International Finance Corporation’s deep knowledge of players can be leveraged to help participants zero in on the partners who can best meet their needs. In most conferences, the search for the right partner is a “needle in a haystack” exercise. Not so at the Finance Forum, and there in lies the magic.

Jane Prokop
Executive Vice President, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mastercard
This is my sixth or seventh Annual Meeting I have attended, and I can see the change. Five years back, some of the same people were talking about ideas they were trying out. Now they are talking about successful, profitable business they are running based on those ideas. It is quite gratifying to see that shift happening.

Sandy Kemper
Founder & CEO, C2FO, USA
I’ve been blown away by the quality of speakers, the seniority, and the level of thinking. It’s very clear that if you’re interested in SME Finance, if you’re interested in being part of this global opportunity to change things for small business, this is the place to be.

Rajeev Chalisgaonkar
EVP, Head of Business Banking & Neobiz
2024 Featured Speakers
-
Alexandre Magnani
CEO
Pagbank
-
Alfonso Garcia Mora
Regional Vice President, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
-
Jane Prokop
EVP and Global Head, Small and Medium Enterprises
Mastercard
-
Mohamed Gouled
Vice President
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
-
Myriam Etile
Global Head of SMB Insights, Visa Commercial Solutions
Visa
-
Márcio Luiz França Gomes
Minister of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business of Brazil
-
Paolo Sironi
IBM Global Research Leader, Banking and Financial Markets
IBM
-
Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams
Minister of Small Business Development
Republic of South Africa
-
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Paytm

Alexandre Magnani
CEO
Pagbank

Alfonso Garcia Mora
Regional Vice President, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Alfonso Garcia Mora is IFC’s Vice President for Europe, Latin America & Caribbean in the World Bank Group (WBG).
In this capacity, Mr. Garcia Mora is responsible for all IFC operations, advisory and investments in the two Regions covering all sectors (Financial Institutions, Infrastructure, Manufacturing Advisory and Services, Disruptive Technologies and Funds and PPP), building a strong program for private sector investments, and fostering collaborative opportunities with key stakeholders to maximize impact. He also serves as Chair of the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN).
Previously, Mr. Garcia Mora was IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific, and before he was the Global Director for the Finance Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank. He led the World Bank’s work on financial stability and integrity; financial infrastructure, inclusion and access; long-term finance and capital markets; and crisis and disaster risk finance across all regions.
Since joining the WBG in January 2013, Mr. Garcia Mora has led different regional responsibilities as Manager and Director in Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, advising governments, supervisors and regulators on projects related to financial-sector development, access to finance, banking crises, capital markets and financial regulation. Mr. Garcia Mora managed the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), leading several assessments, and represented the WBG in different committees of the Financial Stability Board and other standard-setting bodies.
Before his WBG career, Mr. Garcia Mora worked in the private sector for over 12 years, including as Partner-Managing Director at Analistas Financieros Internacionales Consulting Group.
Mr. Garcia Mora holds a PhD in Economics from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and served as a visiting PhD student at Boston University. He also holds a Master of Finance from the Catholic University of Leuven. Mr. Garcia Mora has lectured and published extensively on banking and financial- sector issues.

Jane Prokop
EVP and Global Head, Small and Medium Enterprises
Mastercard

Mohamed Gouled
Vice President
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Mohamed Gouled is IFC’s Vice President of Industries. In this capacity, he’s responsible for (i) managing IFC’s global sector communities of practice and ensuring that lessons of experience from IFC operations contribute to the WBG’s global knowledge bank and thought leadership; (ii) leading business development with global clients; (iii) fostering close collaboration across WBG to align sector strategies, implement the Cascade approach, enhance client delivery, and support policy/sector reforms in WBG countries of operation; and (iv) supporting operational process simplification.
A Djiboutian national, Mr. Gouled was previously VP of Risk and Finance from 2017.
He joined IFC in 1999 as an Investment Officer in what was then the Financial Markets Division of IFC’s Sub-Saharan Africa Department. In this role, Mr. Gouled was instrumental in IFC’s re-engagement in Nigeria, helping to build its Financial Markets portfolio after many years of absence from the country.
In 2002, Mr. Gouled joined the Global Financial Markets Department where he worked on a number of high-profile and groundbreaking transactions including the first residential mortgage-backed securitization to come out of Eastern and Central Europe, the first tier II instrument in the Tunisian banking sector, and the first residential mortgage-backed securitization in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Myriam Etile
Global Head of SMB Insights, Visa Commercial Solutions
Visa

Márcio Luiz França Gomes
Minister of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business of Brazil

Paolo Sironi
IBM Global Research Leader, Banking and Financial Markets
IBM
Paolo Sironi is the Global Research Leader in Banking and Financial Markets at IBM Institute for Business Value, where he leads IBM thought leadership research and advises key global account teams and C-level executives. He is a former start-up entrepreneur who started his career as quantitative risk manager in investment banking. With over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Paolo is one of the most respected fintech voices worldwide. He hosts the international podcast "The Bankers' Bookshelf", where he interviews authors and researchers of the most interesting books, papers, and publications in the field. He is also a bestselling author himself, having published several books on quantitative finance, banking, and fintech innovation, such as his latest Amazon bestseller “Banks and Fintech on Platform Economies”.

Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams
Minister of Small Business Development
Republic of South Africa
Ms Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams was appointed of Minister of Small Business Development from 3 July. She previously held this position from 5 August 2021 to 19 June 2024. She was the Minister of Communications from 22 November 2018 to 5 August 2021.
Born in Sakhela Village, Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams was previously the Deputy Minister of Communications from 26 May 2014 to 30 March 2017, and subsequently the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services until 21 November 2018.
Prior to the 2014 general elections, she was Deputy Minister in the then DoC (now DTPS) from 25 October 2011 to 25 May 2014.
Academic Qualifications
She holds a Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Diploma in Telecommunications and Managements Systems; a Certificate in Telecommunications, Policy and Regulation Management from Wits University; an Advanced Certificate in Project Management from Rhodes University and a Project Management Diploma from Cranefields College.
Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams has been a member of the following parliamentary committees:
Portfolio Committee on Communications and Committee Whip in 2011;
Portfolio Committee on Defence and Committee Whip from 2009 to 2011;
Defence and Intelligence; and
African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary Caucus Sub-Committee on Political Education.
Career/Positions/Memberships/Other Activities
She is currently a member of the ANC Eastern Cape Provincial Executive and Provincial Working committees.
Prior to being a Member of Parliament, Ms Ndabeni-Abrahams was a Project Manager for the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council from 2003 to 2009.
She is a recipient of the Premier's Award for her involvement in voluntary activities aimed at improving peoples’ lives.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Paytm
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is a prominent tech innovator and entrepreneur, recognized for his pioneering contributions to the transformation of India's financial services and mobile payments sector. As the Founder and CEO of One97 Communications and its well-known consumer brand Paytm, Sharma has played a crucial role in advancing financial inclusion and digital innovation across the nation. A passionate proponent of the power of emerging technologies, Sharma has significantly popularized QR code-based transactions and soundboxes among numerous small businesses, democratizing access to digital payments. His strategic vision extends to offering the distribution of a range of financial services including lending, wealth management, and insurance, solidifying his role as a key architect in India's progression towards a fully digital economy.