On 10 May, as part of the G-20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) SME Finance Sub-Group, the Undersecretariat of Treasury of Turkey, one of the co-chairs of the Sub-Group, organized a full day event alongside the United Nations 4th LDCs Conference, in Istanbul, under the theme “SME Finance, G20 and LDCs: Policy Framework, Challenges and What Works”. In recognition of the key support provided to the GPFI by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), AFI’s Executive Director, Alfred Hannig was invited to take part as moderator for the first working session entitled, “Policy and Regulatory Framework, Financial Infrastructure”.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Least Developed Countries, GPFI SME Finance Sub Group Co-Chairs, representatives from G-20 Countries, representatives from international organizations, members of Undersecretariat of Treasury, SME related organizations from Turkey, and representatives from private sector, NGOs and media.

The event aimed to increase awareness of the challenges and priority needs of the LDCs in regard to SME finance. During the event, SME finance in LDCs, promising LDC models, and recommendations on SME access to financial services were discussed. The problems faced by SMEs in accessing financial resources in LDCs and some possible solutions were highlighted in two separate working sessions.

In line with G-20 development objectives, the G-20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) was launched in December, 2010 as an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries and relevant stakeholders, to carry forward the existing work on financial inclusion.

The SME Finance Sub-Group, one of the three sub groups of GPFI, has committed to support the development and implementation of the SME Finance Policy Recommendations outlined in the “Scaling Up SME Access to Financial Services in the Developing World” stocktaking report with the collaborative support of development agencies and private sector players.

In its role as implementing partner in the G20 subgroup on Principles and Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs), AFI is pursuing several activities to support GPFI in the lead up to the G20 Cannes Summit in November 2011. These include promotion of the use of the G20 Principles, and gathering examples of how developing countries have successfully implemented these policies.