This vision brief may be summarized by the following points. First, the crisis of the liberal world order arises from a misalignment of our social, economic and political domains of activity, along with a resulting destabilization of our physical environment. The integration of the global economy has generated problems that extend beyond our current bounds of social and political cooperation. Second, extending our social cooperation – on which basis our political cooperation can be extended as well – requires the creation of the appropriate moral narratives. These narratives must guide business strategies, public policies and civic activities. Third, these narratives must be supplemented by multilevel governance structures that address challenges at the scale – micro, meso and macro – at which these challenges arise. Finally, past human experience in developing moral narratives, supported by multilevel governance structures, suggests guidelines for a future form of multilateralism that enables us to meet this challenge.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are an integral cog of the growth engine of different global economies. In India in 2018, MSMEs employed 40% of the workforce, contributed 37% of GDP and 43% of exports. [1] In spite of exclusive legislations and policies, lack of access to formal credit has hampered MSMEs from realizing their full potential. For lenders, the fragmented and opaque nature of available MSME information poses serious challenges in underwriting. This policy brief proposes a policy framework for establishing databanks intended to further facilitate the use of alternative data in the MSME lending landscape.