Small Business and Financial Services
DFC is supporting small businesses that spur entrepreneurship and drive free and dynamic marketplaces.
Access to financial services is a key driver of economic growth and resilience, yet many entrepreneurs and small businesses across the developing world lack access to adequate financing. Over 40 percent of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises are credit-constrained, which limits their economic productivity, hinders job creation, and reduces the capacity for innovation and creativity.
Small businesses are at the center of DFC’s efforts to support entrepreneurship and open economies wherever we work. Our investments allow us to bolster the ability of banks and other financial institutions to lend to small businesses that are generating jobs and opportunities for their communities.
Investment Stories
![African woman holding grains of rice](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2024-06/Investment%20Story%20Banner_NBS%20Bank_0.png?itok=9kmsu4Px)
![Nepalese farmers standing in a field](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2024-04/Investment%20Story%20Banner_Laxmi.png?itok=v07RpKno)
![Housing units financed by CRRH](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-07/Investment%20Story%20Banner_CRRH.png?itok=l_ZJ8bmO)
![Man overlooking West Bank landscape](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-11/Investment%20Story%20Banner_West%20Bank.png?itok=p2cp2CBf)
![Nighttime shot of Sarajevo](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-06/ProCredit%20Bank%20Banner.png?itok=yIOmwWSy)
![Supporting the world’s smallest farmers](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-05/Africa-Remote-Areas_0.jpg?itok=TViiXBM0)
![Ukrainian woman hardhat](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-02/Investment%20Story%20Banner_Bank%20Lviv.png?itok=Btep9OaC)
![SA Taxi minibuses undergoing maintenance](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-01/Investment%20Story%20Banner_SA%20Taxi.png?itok=_480RaNp)
![Woman loan recipient](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2022-07/Investment%20Story%20Banner_CABEI.png?itok=j1YtVi82)
![Indian woman standing in the doorway of a home](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2022-03/Investment%20Story%20Banner_ManiBhavnam.png?itok=29lU5n18)
![woman in red and orange outfit smiling](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2023-03/Investment%20Story%20Banner_WLB5.png?itok=5MOmWJsE)
![Woman smiling and holding basket](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2022-03/Investment%20Story%20Banner_Lendable.png?itok=9cAZ0h0r)
![Woman smiling in store](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2022-03/Investment%20Story%20Banner_NEF.png?itok=qqG3CzTr)
![Customers using solar systems in a shop](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-11/EARF%20Investment%20Story%20Banner.png?itok=ifcdvdxk)
![Women members of the International Bank of Liberia's senior management team](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-11/Investment%20Story%20Banner_liberia%202.png?itok=sh_TavD8)
![A smiling female Vitas Jordan client](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-08/Investment%20Story%20Header%20Image_VitasJordan.png?itok=KcgMejjo)
![Guatemalan woman smiling in a store](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-06/bancoindustrial_2.png?itok=p2X9jnjq)
![Ugandan woman on the street](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-05/SEAF%202.png?itok=km5QbRP8)
![woman from Lebanon woodworking](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-03/banner%20image.png?itok=Di2crSgm)
![Supporting a female entrepreneur in Mongolia](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-02/Goyol_Cashmere_sewing_2.jpg?itok=GVaxAShB)
![Supporting loans to female borrowers](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-01/Kiva_HP_image.jpg?itok=H_iSWFov)
![photo, Indian woman standing in front of building and smiling](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-07/DFC_Aviom_1440x480.jpg?itok=TL0fKU_h)
![photo, man in pharmacy looking at medication](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-07/MCF_ZamZam_pharmacy_1_1440x480.jpg?itok=wAID_b2J)
![Empowering Uganda’s subsistence farmers](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-03/Munaaba_banner_2_1500x500.jpg?itok=CKYfEdy0)
![Africa - Burkina Faso](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2021-10/Africa-Burkina-Faso.jpg?itok=-b1IBawK)
![photo, fish in baskets](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-06/istock_investmentstory_1440x480.jpg?itok=m0DSfKL5)
![photo, Indian children in classroom smile with raised hands and waving](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-07/Varthana_education_1_1440x480.jpg?itok=lRHfuPAC)
![photo, woman creating jewelry and smiling](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-08/DFC_GlobalParnterships_2_1440x480.jpg?itok=_B5DhrCL)
![fresh bread on cooling racks](/sites/default/files/styles/dfc_investment_story_homepage_700px_x_470px_/public/2020-11/absa_banner.png?itok=eTzkVeRr)