SME Finance & Credit Access (India): India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman backed a Credit Outreach Programme in Andhra Pradesh, sanctioning over Rs 3,200 crore in loans to 1.03 lakh beneficiaries via schemes like Mudra, PM Vishwakarma, PM Surya Ghar and Kisan Credit Card—aimed at widening formal credit for entrepreneurs, farmers and small businesses. Digital Payments for Small Merchants (Asia): Ant International’s Alipay+ says it will enable cross-border QR payments across Argentina by integrating with Transferencias 3.0, letting global travellers pay at millions of merchants—positioning QR rails as a growth lever for local small traders. Startup Funding for Builders (Asia): Emergent, an AI app-creation platform, raised $130m Series C valuing it at $1.5b, saying adoption is driven by non-technical founders and small business owners building production-ready apps. Business Environment (Malaysia): Malaysia’s economy stayed resilient with Q2 GDP growth of 5.8%, with growth across most sectors except agriculture—an upbeat signal for SMEs watching demand and investment conditions. Policy & Competition (Digital Economy): A policy memo reviews how countries are drafting digital competition/antitrust rules to curb harms from dominant platforms and bundling—relevant for smaller firms trying to compete online. SME Risk Watch (Philippines): A business council warns the Philippines is lagging in using RCEP benefits, citing low awareness and weak push among MSMEs. SME Innovation (Environment): The US EPA awarded a Phase II SBIR grant to Pacific Reclaimed Lumber & Supply to scale reclaimed lumber sales using web, AI and app-based tools, supporting circular-economy reuse.