Colombia’s new instant payment system, Bre-B, reached a quarter to a third of micro, small and medium enterprises within months of its October 2025 launch, according to survey data. The speed of adoption among firms historically reliant on cash signals a potential inflection point; meanwhile, electronic transfers already eclipse cash for small and medium businesses, used by over 70% of them. Yet micro-enterprises remain tethered to notes and coins, even as QR code payments and debit card acceptance creep upward. The pattern—rapid digital payments diffusion that still leaves the smallest firms behind—recurs across emerging economies.

In Bangladesh, where 99% of all economic units fall under the cottage, micro, small and medium category, a decade of growth has lifted total establishments by nearly 50% to 11.7 million. Central bank refinance schemes and a budget pledge of an additional Tk 2,000 crore are paired with bank-driven digital nano loans. Trust Bank and City Bank report disbursing thousands of collateral-free, paperless loans to micro-entrepreneurs and supply-chain distributors, often reaching semi-urban and rural areas through agent networks. Nevertheless, official figures show 91% of CMSMEs remain outside institutional banking, and their contribution to GDP hovers at 27–30% against an official target of 35% by 2030. The tension between a mushrooming enterprise base and shallow access to formal credit is central to the sector’s durability amid high inflation and currency depreciation.

Indonesia’s state-owned cement producer Semen Indonesia offers a different model: a structured mentorship ecosystem that has trained 580 micro and small businesses in Central Java, generating Rp6.9 billion in cumulative transactions and over 2,100 local jobs. The programme integrates product standardisation, digitalisation, branding, and market access, pushing one batik business to monthly turnover of Rp100 million. It reflects an emerging recognition that credit alone does not equal inclusion; capacity-building and market linkages matter as much.

Away from the SME mainstream, Iran’s mining sector registered 4.1% growth in the Persian year 1404, even as the non-oil economy contracted by 0.3%. The figure has drawn scepticism from industry advisers, who cite surging machinery costs, fuel shortages that force intermittent operation, and field evidence of declining activity. The dispute exposes a data-integrity problem: if statistics are not grounded in production realities, SME and sectoral policy risks being misdirected. In response, Iran’s Chamber of Commerce has called for a review of the calculation methodology—a step that would matter far beyond mining.

What connects these four countries is a shared pivot to digital tools and targeted support for small enterprises, alongside stubborn gaps in funding, financial capability, and statistical transparency. The next milestones to watch are the rollout of Bangladesh’s refinance fund in the coming fiscal year, Colombia’s expansion of Bre-B as a financial-education vehicle, and whether Iran’s statistical authorities reconcile numbers with on-the-ground conditions.