How far can digital innovation improve credit to small firms in emerging market economies?

Key takeaways

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging market economies struggle to access credit, partly due to firms' short financial histories and lack of collateral.
• The rise of big tech and fintech lenders that make better use of data and digital innovation could reduce the need for collateral and improve SMEs' access to credit. However, big tech and fintech lending so far constitutes only a small share of the total.
• Digital innovation by itself may not be enough to substantially improve SME lending without further progress in overcoming more deep-seated obstacles.