Emerging-market SMEs need to overcome these three challenges: difficulty accessing finance, a lack of specialist expertise and obstacles to international trade, Agility CEO Tarek Sultan writes in the FT. “In emerging markets, SMEs face a particularly harsh existence. Most have limited prospects for growth and short life cycles. But their potential, if they get the right support, is immense — not just for their own development, but for their benefactors,” he says.

The finance gap: The scale of the financing problem for SMEs was demonstrated in a 2017 World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC) study of 128 developing economies, which revealed a USD 5.2 tn gap in SME finance. There was an estimated credit demand of USD 8.9 tn among formal businesses (add another USD 2.9 tn from the informal sector), only USD 3.7 tn of which was supplied. Through technology it is possible to redress this imbalance, Sultan says. It is now easier than ever before for lenders to risk-assess potential borrowers and businesses are now better able to track and improve their creditworthiness.

Knowledge: Modern communication is providing SMEs with cheaper ways to access specialist knowledge, helping them to overcome the price constraints that came with obtaining expert advice in the pre-digital era.

International trade: SMEs suffer disproportionately from non-tariff trade barriers due to the fact that international trade agreements tend to overlook the interests of small businesses. Given that the power to remove these bureaucratic roadblocks lies solely in the hands of national governments, Sultan calls on large businesses to begin advocating for SMEs during trade negotiations.