Aid agency Oxfam has launched a new fund aimed at helping small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, in conjunction with asset management company Symbiotics.     

Oxfam said on Monday it was aiming to raise $100 million after three years for its Small Enterprise Impact Investment Fund, and hoped the fund would help create 100,000 jobs within five years.     

It said that despite many African and Asian countries being viewed as fast-growing markets, many small businesses in those regions were stifled by a lack of funding and limited access to credit.     

"The private sector has a critical role to play in lifting people out of poverty and has the potential to drive huge SME growth in developing countries at a scale that is simply not possible for traditional development finance institutions to achieve on their own," Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking said. - Reuters