SME Lending in Practice: With Anita Bhatia and Sebastian Maciocia

Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/D_hSFBqsNfE

In this conversation, Sebastian Maciocia, Director of Capital Formation, UK, speaks with Anita Bhatia, Advisory Board Member, about the role of productive finance in supporting SMEs and the real economy. Drawing on her background in public policy, finance and social impact, Anita shares what attracted her to Fasanara: a data-driven approach to trade receivables finance that delivers short-term working capital at scale, while maintaining strong commercial discipline.

The discussion explores how institutional investors—including UK local government pension schemes—can align fiduciary responsibilities with place-based impact investing. Key themes include the persistent SME financing gap, the importance of governance and transparency, and the role of technology and data in measuring real-world impact. Together, Sebastian and Anita reflect on why scalable, real-economy credit strategies are likely to play an increasingly important role in the UK’s productive finance landscape.