FISME calls for easier trade finance, tech access for MSMEs under Brics

The Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) has called for a practical implementation agenda to translate the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 18th Brics Summit into easier access to trade finance, technology and overseas markets for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On trade finance, FISME said the recognition that the lack of affordable finance remains a constraint on MSME participation in global trade should be followed by mechanisms that reduce dependence on collateral and conventional balance-sheet-based lending. It said the Guiding Principles for Credit Assessment of Export-Oriented MSMEs, the use of alternative data and the Jaipur Consensus on studying an invoice-discounting mechanism provide an opportunity to develop a more practical Brics framework for MSME trade finance.

India’s experience with digital enterprise identification, Goods and Services Tax (GST)-based information systems and electronic trade receivables platforms could be used to develop an interoperable Brics mechanism for financing verified MSME export receivables quickly and at competitive costs, FISME said.

The organisation also called for reducing the cost and complexity of small-value cross-border transactions. Initiatives on faster and cheaper cross-border payments, interoperable payment systems, digital trade documentation, customs cooperation and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programmes could significantly benefit MSMEs, it said.

FISME suggested that MSME export transactions should be made an explicit pilot use case for these initiatives, allowing a smaller enterprise to sell its products, receive payment and complete documentation without having to navigate procedures primarily designed for large corporations.

Standards cooperation should also be treated as a market-access instrument, FISME said. Non-tariff measures, multiple testing requirements and differences in technical standards can determine whether an MSME is able to enter an overseas market. Cooperation among Brics national standards bodies should therefore focus on greater transparency of technical regulations, compatible standards where feasible, acceptance of accredited test reports and, eventually, mutual recognition arrangements in selected sectors, while maintaining safety and quality requirements.

FISME also called for Brics technology cooperation to move from institutional dialogue to implementation at the factory level. It welcomed the focus on Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing, the Brics Centre for Industrial Competencies and the India Centre for Brics Industrial Competencies.

These institutions, it said, should provide technology demonstrations, AI and digital-readiness assessments, common training programmes, vendor-neutral advisory services, technology matchmaking and access to affordable technology solutions. The Brics Incubator Network, Startup Knowledge Hub and proposed Startup Innovation Fund could similarly support the joint development of technologies tailored to the requirements of smaller manufacturing enterprises, FISME said.

The organisation also backed greater cooperation to help MSMEs manage the green transition. While sharing the Declaration’s concerns over unilateral and discriminatory environmental trade measures, FISME said smaller enterprises would need practical support to comply with rising carbon, traceability and environmental requirements.

Such support could include affordable carbon-accounting tools, accredited verification, green technologies, transition finance and common methodologies, along with cooperation on energy efficiency, the circular economy, material productivity, renewable energy and low-carbon manufacturing, it said.

FISME further proposed a low-cost, technology-enabled mechanism for resolving cross-border commercial disputes. Conventional international arbitration can be expensive for smaller transactions, and Brics could develop an online mediation and expedited arbitration mechanism supported by recognised institutions in member countries, it said.

FISME said the Brics SME Forum should become a continuing annual institution linked to the SME Working Group, with deliverables carried forward from one chairship to the next. It proposed an annual MSME implementation scorecard covering the number of MSMEs receiving cross-border trade finance, reductions in payment and remittance costs, mutual recognition of standards and test reports, technology partnerships and joint ventures, digitalisation and AI adoption, green-transition projects, buyer-seller and supply-chain linkages, and the resolution of cross-border commercial disputes.

“The promise of Brics for smaller enterprises lies in making economic relationships less costly, less risky and more accessible—not in creating a parallel architecture that adds further complexity,” FISME said.

The organisation said India’s 2026 chairship had placed MSMEs, technology, finance and practical economic cooperation firmly on the Brics agenda. The priority now should be to convert these commitments into mechanisms that entrepreneurs and industrial clusters can actually use.

FISME said it was ready to work with the Government of India, Brics SME institutions and counterpart business organisations across member countries to advance the proposed implementation agenda.