of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Mastercard Impact Fund have forged a new partnership to address pressing financing challenges facing MSMEs in Asia Pacific.
The partnership, facilitated by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, will initially focus on seven countries in the region: Georgia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Leverage a USD 5 million grant from master cardthis initiative will provide financial institutions with risk mitigation capital, performance incentives, and capacity building to facilitate lending to MSMEs.
The program will prioritize women-led or women-owned MSMEs and MSMEs engaged in climate finance.
The grant is expected to support ADB financing of up to US$1 billion over four years.
The partnership aims to address the significant credit gap estimated at USD 2.5 trillion faced by MSMEs in the region.
Despite playing a critical role in economic growth and job creation, nearly half of all MSMEs in Asia Pacific are unserved or underserved by financial institutions.
“MSMEs form the backbone of Asia-Pacific economies, but many struggle to access adequate financing.
By combining the resources and expertise of ADB and Mastercard, this facility will unlock the potential of MSMEs, particularly women-owned businesses and those supporting climate finance, empowering businesses and increasing inclusiveness across the region. and promote sustainable economic growth. ”
Bhargav Dasgupta, Vice President, Market Solutions, ADB, said:
“This partnership further deepens the work we are doing in Asia Pacific to support entrepreneurs and small businesses who are the lifeblood of communities and economies.
By strengthening our resilience to climate and economic shocks, we will put more people, communities and entrepreneurs on the path to financial inclusion and prosperity. ”
Jon Huntsman, Vice Chairman of Mastercard and Director of the Mastercard Impact Fund, said:
