BRICS leaders have endorsed new initiatives to facilitate easier financing and trade for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, including a potential invoice discounting mechanism and digital trade documentation, aiming to integrate smaller firms more effectively into global markets.
BRICS leaders have endorsed a push to make finance and trade easier for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, arguing that cheaper credit is essential if smaller firms are to play a larger role in cross-border commerce. In the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the summit chaired by India, the bloc said access to affordable funding remains a major constraint on MSMEs and limits their integration into global value chains.
The declaration also backed guiding principles for credit assessment frameworks aimed at export-oriented MSMEs. According to the text, the approach is intended to draw on a wider range of data to reduce information gaps, improve risk assessment and expand formal lending to businesses that are often shut out of traditional bank finance.
BRICS members also welcomed a study into an invoice discounting mechanism for the bloc, a tool that could allow businesses to unlock cash tied up in unpaid invoices and free up working capital. Trade ministers had already agreed the Jaipur Consensus in August, alongside a broader package of MSME measures that included a shift towards cash-flow-based credit assessment and support for digital trade documentation such as e-invoices and electronic bills of lading.
The New Delhi summit also highlighted wider cooperation through the BRICS SME Working Group and praised India’s role in convening the first BRICS SME Forum in Agra. Officials said the forum’s report focused on finance, technology and sustainable growth, underscoring the bloc’s effort to move beyond statements of intent and towards practical measures for smaller firms across member economies.
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