Does technological inclusion promote financial inclusion among SMEs? Evidence from South-East Asian (SEA) countries

This study investigates whether the use and ownership of information and technological amenities by SMEs enhance their access to external credits. The data on the website ownership of, and email usage by 6805 firms in the emerging South-East Asian (SEA) markets collected from the World Bank Group Enterprise Survey (WBES) micro-database served as our sample. We used a random-effect panel logistic regression model for the baseline data analysis. Our results show that the usage of ICT-based services contributes to access to external credit facilities by SMEs, enhancing their financial inclusion. Our findings suggest that policymakers should focus on improving technological infrastructure and amenities that help dissipate opacity and information asymmetry in supplying credit to SMEs in emerging markets.