Mobilising financial resources

Adequate access to finance is essential for productive upgrading and economic growth. The scarcity of funds in developing countries is often the outcome of a low level of financial intermediation. Small firms, which rely almost exclusively on bank loans for external funding, are more affected by this financing gap, and even more so for long-term financing. To tackle these barriers, development banks have gained importance as instruments for facilitating access to credit and have recently expanded their activities. Credit guarantee schemes have also grown considerably in recent decades. International financial institutions, such as domestic public institutions, have contributed to expanding financial access to firms. Alongside traditional financing mechanisms, new instruments have been tailored to respond to the specificities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in non-OECD economies.