MAS, UNDFC to develop integrated financial ecosystems for MSMEs

The project will focus on enterprises from least developed countries.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the United National Capital Development Fund entered a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of an integrated and digital financial ecosystem for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from least-developed countries.

In a joint statement, the parties said they will tie up on developing the Pacific Islands Integrated Financial Ecosystem (PIIFE) to kickstart the partnership to help MSMEs and businesses in the region and Singapore to be more digitally connected.

The PIIFE will offer open digital infrastructure to participating MSMEs through financial empowerment by providing broad-based financial literacy and financial skillsets content. Participants will get verifiable digital credentials upon completion of the online courses.

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It will also provide Financial Trust Framework for MSMEs for better access to secured and unsecured financing and financial services. This will allow financial institutions to use verifiable digital credentials and alternative data sets to assess the creditworthiness of MSMEs which include the track record of successful payments to suppliers and tax payments to relevant authorities.

PIIFE will also expand business opportunities through digital trade discovery platforms by offering a scalable network of business-to-business ecosystems that will allow MSMEs to grow locally and across Asia and other regions.