The SME Access to Digital Finance Study

The small business sector is one of the most important drivers of economic development, employment, and innovation. With a quickly growing micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) sector in Latin America, it is important to address the MSME finance gap in the region. Across Latin America, digital lending and capital raising fintech firms have increasingly been servicing the MSME sector. In both 2019 and 2020, more than USD3 billion was lent to MSMEs through fintech channels. Thus, to better contextualize how growth in the fintech industry has contributed to bridging the finance gap, The SME Access to Digital Finance: A Deep Dive into the Latin American Fintech Ecosystem shows how fintechs could be part of the solution of how to include MSMEs in the financial sector. Focusing on six key countries where fintech has taken off over the last few years – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico – this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by MSMEs when seeking finance through fintech channels. The study also seeks to understand how MSMEs view their fintech funding activities compared to traditional finance options, such as retail banking. This study follows on from the first edition of this study, Business Access to Alternative Finance: A Deep Dive into Mexico & Chile, which focused on how small businesses use digital alternative financial products to support their funding needs. It is also part of a regional series focusing on access to finance more broadly, with the forthcoming ASEAN Access to Digital Finance Study looking at how both small businesses and individual consumers use digital financial channels for their financing needs in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The findings from this study confirm the hypothesis that fintechs are important players in closing the MSME financing gap, and can play an important role in driving MSME growth in the region. Alternative finance originations related to fintech credit and capital raising models reached USD5.27 billion in 2020 when most of it went to MSMEs. This highlights the fast pace at which fintechs are becoming of key importance for MSME growth. Crucially, for many MSMEs in the region, fintech platforms are becoming an essential resource for providing much-needed finance. The study presents the current regulatory landscape in the region as ‘access to finance’ mandates become increasingly important to policymakers. Fintech-focused regulation and policies must be considered to ensure the small business sector across the region is supported. The fintech ecosystem continues to develop rapidly, and regulators and supervisors across the region are endeavoring to keep pace with developments. We expect the fintech ecosystems across Latin America to continue growing, particularly in terms of functioning as clear channels for financial inclusion for MSMEs. We would like to thank the Inter-American Development Bank and IDB-Invest for their support, and the 33 fintech platforms that partnered with the research team to ensure robust MSME participation