The International Finance Corporation promotes private sector development through its investment, technical assistance and advisory work. The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Department provides technical support and shares information on IFC’s transfer of business expertise to local firms throughout the developing world.

Key functions of the SME Department:

Providing Expertise. We identify and make expertise available for the World Bank Group's small business programs, particularly in increasing access to finance and improving the business enabling environment. The regional departments also rely on our support when launching new facilities and developing programs.

Sharing Ideas on What Works. We have learned many valuable lessons in promoting small business development, particularly through our monitoring & evaluation work. We identify and share best practices, experience, and knowledge from our small business development work, including:

• Consolidating and strengthening its metrics and evaluation methods.
• Documenting lessons learned and preparing illustrative case studies.
• Participating in networks such as the International Financial Institutions (IFI) working group and the Committee of Donor Agencies for Small Enterprise Development.

Linkages. Linkage work is designed to complement selected IFC investments to increase the developmental impact on local communities, including SMEs, health, education and infrastructure. Linkage programs achieve this by:

• Improving local SMEs' technical and business skills, thus qualifying them for contracts to sell higher-quality goods and services that generate sustainable new sources of income.
• Facilitating access to finance for local suppliers.
• Strengthening local supply and distribution networks.