WeBank wins platinum SME Financier of the Year awards at Global SME Finance Awards 2024

WeBank, the Tencent-backed Chinese digital bank, won two platinum awards in the SME Financier of the Year category at the Global SME Finance Awards 2024, according to a report by Xinhua on 20 September 2024. The bank took the platinum award in the global commercial bank category and the regional platinum award for Asia.

The awards were presented at the 2024 Global SME Finance Forum, held in São Paulo, Brazil, from 16 to 18 September. The forum is organised by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, with support from the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

SECOND CONSECUTIVE ASIA PLATINUM

According to Xinhua, WeBank became the first financial institution to win the top-level platinum award for SME Financier of the Year in the Asia region in consecutive years. The recognition was based on the bank's experience in using digital means to serve small and medium-sized enterprises.

During the forum's roundtable discussions, a WeBank representative presented the bank's digital practices in serving China's micro and small enterprises, a segment that Xinhua put at more than 53 million businesses.

The 2024 awards also recognised institutions from other regions. Winners included Bangladesh's BRAC Bank, which received three awards, IPDC Finance of Bangladesh, which was named global champion for women entrepreneur support, and Ethiopian fintech Kifiya, which won in the Product Innovation of the Year category.

WeBank's awards were for its SME lending, which it provides through a fully digital model rather than a branch network. The bank, in which Tencent is the largest shareholder, describes itself as China's first digital bank.