SMEs for Job Creation in the Arab World : SME Access to Financial Services

Nasr, Sahar ; Pearce, Douglas

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO BANK ACCOUNTS;    ACCESS TO BANKING;    ACCESS TO BANKING SERVICES;    ACCESS TO CREDIT;    ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT;   

RP-ID  :  71551

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The Arab Spring in the Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA) region has brought to the forefront keychallenges: the need to create job opportunities, equalaccess, a level playing field, transparency andaccountability, and a fair and competitive environment.Crony capitalism, the privileged access of certain elites tofavorable legal and regulatory treatment, access to markets,and the coincidence of political and economic power, was amajor concern contributing to the uprising. Many sawprivilege and corruption as the source of unemployment andinequality, effectively raising barriers to entry and growthfor the majority of entrepreneurs. At the same time,practices such as connected lending and preferential landallocations, contributed to poor performance of keyinstitutions, underpinning the market economy. It iscritical for the MENA countries to achieve the aspirationsof their people and attain sustainable and inclusivedevelopment by expanding private-led employment and creatingentrepreneurship opportunities. This report assesses thesupply and demand of financial services to small and mediumenterprises (SMEs) in the MENA region, as well as theregulatory, institutional and policy environment thatdetermines the cost, risk, and scale of SME finance.Emerging and promising SME finance models for banks,investors, government and regulators are outlined. Thesecould significantly improve the outreach, viability, riskmanagement, and development impacts of SME finance in theMENA region. SMEs need access to longer term credit productsand equity, in addition to working capital loans and tradefinance. They also need payment and card services, depositfacilities, liquidity management, risk management tools andinsurance. The principal role of the state is as an enablerand regulator, providing the financial infrastructure, andlegal and policy frameworks that financial institutions needto be able to meet the range of SME financial needsprofitably. All this will contribute to attaining a moresustainable and inclusive system that can play a moreimportant role in economic growth, and the regions prosperity.