In collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India, the SME Initiative hosted a conference that brought researchers together with practitioners from the Indian banking sector to discuss innovative, scalable solutions to the challenges that MSMEs face in gaining access to finance. The day began with SME Initiative affiliates and other leading researchers in the field sharing evidence on effective approaches to SME financing including relationship banking and appropriate incentives for credit officers using credit scoring models. A panel of bank executives and financial sector leaders discussed what is and is not working with SME financing, and the role of different approaches to SME lending, such as credit guarantees, venture capital, and business incubators. Attendees also took part in small group discussions that matched participants from financial institutions with researchers for in-depth conversations around the challenges to SME financing. The day wrapped up with a keynote address from Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

The full conference agenda can be found here.