Micro, small and medium enterprises play a significant role in the growth of the world’s economies. According to the World Bank, they constitute 90 to 99 per cent of companies worldwide and contribute more than 50% of the global GDP. Yet, these enterprises face difficulties when seeking funds to operate and grow.

Banks are reluctant to offer financial facilities to SMEs, which often have limited credit history, are under-collateralised, and have a limited financial literacy and documentation to support their applications.

Join us and hear from Mazen Al Masri, Associate Professor at Qatar University, College of Business as he tackles the factors that hinder SMEs’ access to credit from traditional financial institutions, how Decentralized Finance (DeFi) addresses these challenges and the conditions necessary for such a decentralized platform to become a viable alternative to traditional financial services in Qatar.