The Next Frontier in SME Ratings: Improving Access to Credit and Business Opportunities for the World’s Largest Business Segment

SME credit ratings are one of the most underutilised and misunderstood concepts, though they have the potential to proliferate the ability of SMEs to access funding opportunities via both traditional and non-traditional channels. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the industry and sets out innovative solutions for improving the effectiveness, viability, and coverage of SME credit rating services. It focuses on how private and public sector SME credit rating industries can be established and how the unique “ecosystem approach” can be incorporated. It reintroduces the public sector credit rating model and highlights how it can be an effective solution within the SME space. The book will also include feedback from direct interviews with SME credit rating agencies (private and public), ministries linked to the SME credit rating industry, regulators, and related multilateral organisations. Furthermore, the book incorporates the author’s knowledge from recently completed credit rating projects from the World Bank Group, The United Nations, and The African Union. This, together with innovative ideas around how SME credit rating industries can be created/initiated, establishes vital policy tools that can be utilised by governments, credit rating agencies, regulators, and related stakeholders.