Credit mediators

Credit mediators

Public policy can improve the financing prospects of women-owned firms by increasing the scale and reach of public interventions aimed at improving conditions of small and medium firms’access to bank credit,improving women’s access to equity and venture financing,and preventing discrimination in lending markets.Subsidised loans and loan guarantees are the most common instruments used to support small and new businesses.Governments in OECD countries have put in place “credit mediators” to ease the flow of credit to SMEs or have enacted binding codes of conduct for SME lending, There are low-interest loan programmes that help individuals obtain start-up financing,while non-profit and local organisations are also active in this area.The Fonds de Garantie à l’Inititative des Femmes guarantees 70% of bank loans taken by women for establishing or developing an enterprise.