AI at Scale: From Smarter Credit to Smarter Enterprises

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of SME growth, not only by transforming how businesses access finance, but also by changing how they operate, compete, and scale. On the finance side, AI-powered credit models are enabling lenders to move beyond traditional approaches, using transaction data, payment histories, and alternative data sources to reach underserved SMEs faster and more efficiently. At the same time, AI is giving small businesses access to capabilities once reserved for large corporations, from marketing and customer engagement to bookkeeping, operations, product development, and market intelligence.

This session will explore two defining questions: how AI can expand access to finance while ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability; and how SMEs can leverage AI to boost productivity, accelerate growth, and compete in an increasingly digital economy. Bringing together financial institutions, technology leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs, the discussion will examine how to ensure that the benefits of AI are broadly shared, enabling more SMEs to become productive, competitive, and investment ready.