New approach to MSME financing in Asia-Pacific provides equity, opportunity

FOR some months now, the non-profit organisation People-Centred Internet (PCI) has been working with the Indonesian National ICT Council and the Digital Divide Institute on how to bring meaningful financial participation to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The aim is to develop an ecosystem under which MSMEs are incentivised to both improve their financial and digital literacy, and begin their journey towards meeting United Nations' (UN) sustainable development goals.

A report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) titled Rethinking MSME Finance in Asia and the Pacific: A Post-Crisis Policy Agendahas put forward the concept of a "digital enso".

"Enso" is a term taken from Zen Buddhism, meaning a circle that is drawn in one brush stroke, leaving the drawer's mind and body free to create. In this context, the report explains: "the bundling of access to finance with other service offerings could create an opportunity for an MSME to focus on its core competencies, and not be distracted by the additional burden of having to make do with more traditional, ill-fitting financial offerings".