First Insights From China: The Effects of COVID-19 on Financial Health of MSEs

As members of the global financial inclusion community, all of us, whether we are researchers, implementers, policymakers, donors, investors, and/or from the private sector, are asking ourselves where support is most needed, and how is it best served by the resources and capabilities we can offer. BFA Global’s blog series on the COVID-19 response, launched recently with stories of gig workers in Wuhan, is an extension of that reflection -- a global window into what lives and livelihoods look like during this turbulent moment in the world economy.

Now, BFA Global and the Chinese Academy of Financial Inclusion (CAFI) come together to present the early insights from CAFI’s research on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the financial health of micro and small enterprises.

By sharing the early insights from CAFI’s research and the following panel discussion, attendees are encouraged to connect the latest lessons from China to their own strategies in assisting small businesses, workers, and their families around the world experiencing hardship and destabilization. More than ever should digital finance enable the real economy: online platform lending, expanded financing channels, targeted digital credit for MSEs, digital payments and transfers to keep families fed, and workers and businesses protected. At the peak of the crisis, this session will explore just some of the critical stop-gap measures in inclusive fintech that we can all learn from and seek to apply.

Presenters

• Dr. Duoguang Bei, president of CAFI.
• Dr. Xiugen Mo, head of research at CAFI.
• Moderator: David Porteous, founder and chair of BFA Global.