The SME Initiative kicked off an exciting new partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) on January 12, 2015. A high-level roundtable discussion brought together executives from Tier 1 banks across Africa with SME Initiative researchers and AfDB representatives. The one-day event focused on barriers to SME financing in the region. Participants discussed the challenges that banks face in lending to SMEs, identified potential solutions to those problems, and developed an action plan for testing these innovative ideas in order to expand access to finance for SMEs across Africa. The ideas developed throughout the day will be piloted by financial institutions, and successful pilots will lead to large-scale evaluations. Read more about the SME Initiative’s new partnership with AfDB here.