Research On The Influence Of Digital Inclusive Finance On The Innovation And Development Of SMEs

The current global economic situation is full of uncertainty,and China has entered a new stage of development with the theme of promoting high-quality development to build a modern socialist power in an all-round way.There is no doubt that technological innovation is an important starting point to ensure high-quality economic development and an important determinant of economic growth.SMEs,as the major power of technology innovation and R&D,have an important role to play in promoting economic development.In 2013,the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the first policy document to support the development of enterprises with specialty and novelty characteristics.In 2021,the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Notice on Supporting the High-quality Development of enterprises with specialty and novelty characteristics,introducing central financial support policies for the high-quality development of SMEs with specialty and novelty characteristics.The purpose is to focus on supporting a number of specialized and special new "little giant" enterprises that focus on market segments,have high innovation capabilities and growth potential,so as to support the development of real economy,especially the manufacturing industry,strengthen and improve the stability and competitiveness of national economy.Nevertheless,such enterprises face severe funding constraints as a result of imperfect information disclosure mechanism and uncertain corporate governance,which hamper their innovative development.Through the benefits of its digital technology,inclusive digital finance has alleviated the difficulties of SMEs through the expansion of financing channels,and lower funding costs.Therefore,the research on how digital inclusive finance can promote the innovation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises can provide theoretical support and realization path for digital inclusive finance to better serve the real economy,promote the innovation of small and mediumsized enterprises,and promote the accelerated transformation and upgrading and highquality development of China’s economy.This paper discusses the impact and mechanism of digital inclusive finance on the innovation and development of SMEs through a combination of theoretical analysis and empirical research.Firstly,the relevant research literature on the impact of digital inclusive finance on the innovation and development of SMEs at home and abroad was sorted out,and relevant concepts were defined.Then,on the basis of analyzing the development of digital inclusive finance and the innovation status of SMEs in China,the mechanism of digital inclusive finance affecting the innovation of SMEs is emphasized.After that,this paper takes firms listed on the New Third Board as the research sample and combines them with Peking University’s Digital Inclusive Finance Development Index from 2013 to 2020,making an empirical tests of the role of innovation-stimulating and intermediation effects of digital inclusive finance,as well as heterogeneous effects based on differences in SMEs ownership,industries and regions.Empirical results indicate that:(1)the development of digital inclusive finance can promote SMEs innovation,but the effects of different aspects on SMEs innovation are different.(2)Digital Inclusive Finance can support technical innovation by reducing SMEs’ financial constraints.(3)The effect of Digital Inclusive Finance on the Innovation of High and New Technology SMEs is more important than the Non High Tech Industry.(4)Digital Inclusive Finance can make a significant contribution to the technology innovation of SMEs in the East region where the economy is more developed.(5)Digital Inclusive Finance has the potential to address the issue of equity lending in traditional funding and has a stronger incentive for private SMEs to innovate.On the basis of the above findings,the paper suggests that the government should promote and guide the sound development of digital inclusive finance and provide policy support;Traditional financial institutions should invest more in IT,develop services with technology finance and facilitate lending for SMEs;SMEs should improve their corporate structures,speed up the development of business operations and financial management systems,strengthen the dissemination of information and make better allocation of digital inclusive finance lending so that it can play an important role in supporting SMEs development.