Joint presentation with Mastercard will cover how alternative data and AI lending models can expand inclusion and improve efficiency
Uplinq, the first global credit decisioning support platform for small business lenders, today announced that its co-founder Patrick Reily will present in a joint session with Thomas Kuncheria, Senior Vice President, Small and Medium Enterprises EEMEA, Mastercard, at the Global SME Finance Forum 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The session, “The Untapped Trillion: How Mastercard & Uplinq Are Breaking Barriers in SME Lending,” will be taking place on Tuesday, September 16, at 2 p.m. South African Standard Time.
Reily and Kuncheria will discuss the massive opportunities in small business lending, including how lenders can begin to close today’s $5.7 trillion global SME funding gap, according to data from the International Finance Corporation. Legacy underwriting solutions create a number of challenges throughout the small business lending process, including high acquisition costs and onboarding inefficiencies for lenders as well as cashflow struggles and unmet financing needs for business owners. The joint presentation will highlight how new technology that incorporates alternative data sources and AI-powered risk scoring solves these pain points, leading to more inclusive lending and operational gains.
“We’re honored to be presenting alongside Mastercard on such a critical topic at the world’s foremost gathering of small business lending leaders,” said Reily. “Modern credit assessment solutions present lenders with the opportunity to lend more inclusively while increasing revenues, creating a virtuous cycle. Our presentation will encourage leaders to consider how they can leverage these technologies to strengthen their lending operations and further support small businesses globally.”
“We believe inclusive lending is essential to unlocking opportunity for small businesses and driving equitable economic growth,” said Kuncheria, “We share in Uplinq’s mission to close that funding gap by harnessing data and technology that enables lenders to better serve small businesses, especially those overlooked by the financial system.”
The Global SME Finance Forum, held in Johannesburg from September 15-17, is the SME Finance Forum’s annual flagship event. This acclaimed conference has showcased and shaped the latest innovations and best practices in SME finance and is the world’s leading, technically-oriented, geographically diverse platform focused solely on scaling SME financing. The Global Forum takes place in a different country each year, attracting C-level industry leaders from more than 80 countries, as well as leading policymakers and regulators.
To learn more about Uplinq’s mission to democratize small business lending, visit uplinq.co.