2014年-世界发展银行全球_SMEs_and_Women-owned_SMEs_in_Mongolia___Market_Research_Study_84页_4mb

Summary of SMEs and Women-owned SMEs in Mongolia

Core Content

This report presents a comprehensive market research study on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women-owned SMEs in Mongolia, conducted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (FS) and the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) in May-July 2014. The study aims to provide insights into the enabling environment, supply and demand of SME finance, and the specific challenges and opportunities faced by women entrepreneurs.

Main Viewpoints

• SMEs are vital to Mongolia’s economy and are central to IFC’s strategy in the country. However, they face significant challenges, particularly in accessing finance.
• Women-owned SMEs are not well-defined in official statistics, but industry stakeholders estimate that nearly 60% of micro-scale, family, and sole-entrepreneur-owned businesses are women-owned, which is significantly higher than the 38.9% reported by the World Bank in the Mongolia Enterprise Survey 2013.
• Access to finance is a major constraint for SMEs in Mongolia. Commercial banks provide short-term, expensive loans requiring high collateral, which is particularly challenging for women entrepreneurs due to limited assets.
• Collateral requirements are a significant barrier, exacerbated by the lack of a central registry for movable assets and weaknesses in the legal framework for secured transactions.
• Banking services are heavily reliant on branch visits, though mobile and internet banking are gaining popularity.
• Women entrepreneurs face unique challenges, including time constraints due to family responsibilities and a lack of gender-disaggregated data, which hinders the recognition of women-owned SMEs as a distinct and profitable market segment.

Key Information

Enabling Environment

• Mongolia has a stable macroeconomic environment, but it has become more volatile in recent years.
• The SME sector is a key driver of economic growth, yet it is constrained by poor corporate governance, regulatory gaps, and lack of support mechanisms.
• The country's harsh geography and poor infrastructure have led to a concentration of economic activity in Ulaanbaatar.
• The legal framework provides equal rights for women in property ownership and inheritance, but practical challenges persist.

Supply of SME Finance

• Commercial banks dominate the financial sector but face challenges in providing adequate SME finance due to high collateral requirements and limited capacity for cash-flow-based lending.
• Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) and Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SCCs) are alternative sources of finance for SMEs, especially for short-term and start-up needs.
• IFC has supported the development of a Secured Transactions and Collateral Registries (STCR) Program, aiming to improve collateral management and reduce risks for banks.
• Despite growth in bank lending, SME loans account for only 16% of the total loan book, indicating low penetration in this sector.

Demand for SME Finance

• SMEs and women-owned SMEs show high usage of banking services and are generally familiar with available financial and non-financial products.
• Loan penetration is high, with over 60% of surveyed businesses having a loan for business purposes.
• Most businesses, regardless of ownership, have successfully obtained loans, with 88% of applicants being successful.
• There is a strong interest in future loans, particularly for equipment, machinery, and working capital, with a preference for grace periods and longer repayment terms.

Gender-specific Constraints

• Women are often perceived as the primary caretakers, limiting their time for networking and training.
• Gender-disaggregated data is not widely available, making it difficult to assess the true size and potential of women-owned SMEs.
• Both men and women perceive collateral requirements as the greatest challenge in accessing finance, but women are more likely to lack movable assets.
• Family-owned businesses are prevalent, with over 45% of businesses in the sample being family-owned. Women may often sacrifice property ownership rights in favor of their husbands to access finance, highlighting the need for gender-aware business registration policies.

Recommendations

• Enhance the credit information system to better cover SMEs and support their access to finance.
• Promote tax incentives in leasing laws and develop legal frameworks for receivables pledging to encourage factoring.
• Introduce risk-sharing mechanisms in IFC investment programs to reduce banks' reluctance to lend to SMEs.
• Develop gender-aware financing programs to increase awareness of women-owned SMEs as a market segment.
• Encourage banks to transition from collateral-based to cash-flow-based lending.
• Expand training and advisory services to SMEs, particularly in rural areas, using e-learning platforms.
• Strengthen collaboration between SME support institutions and banks to improve business advisory and training.
• Implement family-friendly policies in the workplace and public sector to support women entrepreneurs in balancing work and family responsibilities.

Conclusion

The study highlights the importance of SMEs in Mongolia's economy and underscores the need for targeted support, especially for women entrepreneurs. It recommends a multi-faceted approach involving regulatory reforms, improved data collection, enhanced financial services, and capacity-building initiatives to foster inclusive and sustainable SME growth.