This is a key outcome of reforms the Reserve Bank of Fiji has been leading in collaboration and partnership with key payment system stakeholders in Fiji.

Under the partnership, IFC has loaned $5 million to CRDB Bank Burundi S.A. for on-lending to smaller businesses, many of which struggle to access financing for growth, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The loan will benefit more than 20,000 clients of Caja Arequipa, which will contribute to the development of the most vulnerable sectors of Peru in the context of the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new regional platform will help financial institutions resolve their non-performing loans in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania, and Serbia, freeing up capital for new lending.

The investment will allow the bank to strengthen its lending operations for women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises in the underserved regions of the country.

The local currency-denominated senior non-preferred sustainability bonds will help the bank increase its lending to businesses investing in climate-smart initiatives—green buildings, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable agriculture, and others.

The investment will help promote greater market competitiveness by bolstering competition in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) financing market through a capital market solution.

The investment in the nation's recovering financial sector is part of a wider SME strategy, which aims to help spur a greater range of financial products and services such as psychometric scoring solutions and payment systems reforms.

The project aims to widen access to finance for the purchase of these vehicles and help strengthen the country's climate finance market, mitigating climate impact and supporting economic recovery in the country.

This learning brief summarizes the challenges, opportunities, and responses of agri-SMEs, financiers and development partners to the current food crisis.