REMARKS FOR FIN4DEV HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE “ADDRESSING THE MISSING MIDDLE CHALLENGE: FINTECH, DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND MSME FINANCE” 22 APRIL 2026, UNHQ CR4

Excellencies,

Distinguished colleagues,

1             It is a pleasure to co-host this Fin4Dev Dialogue with Kenya, Mexico and UN-DESA. I thank our partners for this timely dialogue in keeping MSMEs at the heart of the Financing for Development conversation.

2             Let me begin with a simple proposition. MSMEs are not a niche segment of our economies — they are the backbone of our economies. They account for nine in ten businesses globally and more than half of all jobs, and in many developing countries they are the single largest source of livelihoods. But MSMEs are not only recipients of finance and innovation — they are themselves drivers of both. They pioneer new business models, serve communities that larger incumbents overlook, and take on risks the formal system will not. When we speak of closing the US$5.7 trillion-dollar MSME financing gap, we are not simply talking about inclusion. We are talking about unlocking the most dynamic part of the global economy.

3             Singapore knows this from experience. MSMEs make up more than 90 per cent of our enterprises and 70 per cent of our employment. Over the past decade, we have worked to build an ecosystem in which they can access finance, credit, and digital tools on terms once reserved for large corporates. Let me share examples of three enablers:

·       First, on digital public infrastructure. Our SGFinDex is a national data exchange that lets individuals and businesses retrieve their financial information across participating banks through a single digital identity. This allows MSMEs to consolidate and share their financial data securely, and the Singapore Trade Data Exchange gives small exporters access to the data flows that enable accurate credit assessment and faster trade financing.

·       Second, trusted digital documents. Here I want to introduce TradeTrust. This is an open framework for issuing and verifying electronic trade documents that are legally recognised across jurisdictions — it means that an MSME can now issue an electronic bill of lading as easily as its paper equivalent, removing a long-standing barrier to trade finance.

·       Third, the importance of open, API-driven finance that lets fintechs and banks build tailored MSME solutions at a fraction of the traditional cost.

4             But domestic infrastructure alone is not enough. MSMEs increasingly trade and scale across borders, and our financial plumbing must follow. So, I want to share briefly today about Project Nexus. Singapore is proud to be a founding participant, alongside the central banks of India, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, in Project Nexus — a BIS Innovation Hub initiative to link our national instant payment systems through a single multilateral network. When Nexus goes live, MSMEs in linked networks will be able to send or receive a cross-border payment as quickly, cheaply, and predictably as a domestic transfer. And other countries who want to come on board can do so easily rather than having a fragmented landscape of bilateral instant payment systems. For us, this is what fintech for development looks like in practice.

5             Let me close with two asks as we move from the Sevilla Commitment to implementation.

·       First, we must treat digital public infrastructure — identity, payments, data exchange — as a global public good, and support developing countries in building systems that can interoperate across borders. The Nexus model shows regional interoperability is achievable when central banks commit; we should replicate and extend it.

·       Second, international cooperation must close the information gap, not only the financing gap. Fintech’s power lies in turning alternative data into credit. The UN, working with the international financial institutions (IFIs) and the private sector, has a unique convening role on standards, safeguards, and capacity-building — so that AI- and data-driven lending genuinely reaches the “missing middle” without reproducing old exclusions in new forms.

6             With that, I thank you for your attention and I look forward to today’s discussion.