MSME Business Financial Health and Resilience Index

Seymour Financial Resilience Index ®

Financial Resilience Institute has developed a very robust, world-leading MSME Business Financial Health and Resilience Index model, leveraging robust data and analytics from our MSME Business Financial Health and Resilience Studies conducted in India (May 2025) and Canada (December 2025). The Index, the first of its kind in the world, with application across developing and developed countries, measures the “ability of a small and medium enterprise (MSME) to withstand financial challenges, stressors or shocks from unplanned business events, while progressing toward its business and financial goals.”

In light of supply chain disruptions, economic shocks, tariffs and other challenges facing MSMEs globally, the Index can be utilized to track the impact of these shocks on MSMEs and economies.

The Index measures business financial health and resilience across eight behavioural, resilience and (financial stress) sentiment indicators and was created by CEO and Founder Eloise Duncan, with the support of her expert team and based on our Business Financial Health and Resilience Framework.

The Index has been designed to enable tracking of business financial health and resilience at the national, regional, segment and individual business level. Disaggregated data analytics enables tracking of more financially vulnerable or underserved businesses.

There is also the potential for the Index to be used as a forward-looking tool to inform evidence-based policy and decision-making and more targeted interventions and investments by policymakers, financial institutions and financial health innovators, while linking to positive outcomes such as job creation as a result of improved business financial resilience or as a result of targeted financing, helping businesses to grow and thrive.

Our expertise in creating Indices, including the peer-reviewed personal Financial Health and Resilience Index, provided a foundation as we developed this Index. These two indices are able to be used in tandem to give a fulsome view of a country's performance and economy when it comes to financial health and resilience.

The Business Financial Health and Resilience Index is a proprietary regression model developed through an iterative process of regressing and evaluating over 42 potential indicators against the self-reported financial health and resilience construct, using the multiple linear regression technique. As a non-profit, our Institute looks forward to leveraging the Index for good with values-aligned Financial Institutions, policymakers, financial health leaders and other organizations, including internationally, to help support evidence-based decision-making, targeted interventions and impact with MSMEs, Women-Led MSMEs and key MSME segments.

Index Indicators

The eight Index indicators account for 63 percent in the variance in the business financial health and resilience construct. Weighting of the Index indicators are unequal.

Scoring Model

Medium Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are scored based on the Index model from 0 to 100 based on the eight index indicators.

‘Extremely Vulnerable’ businesses have a business financial health and resilience score of 0 to 30, ‘Financially Vulnerable’ businesses have a business financial health and resilience score of 30.01 to 50, ‘Approaching Resilience’ businesses have a business financial health and resilience score of 50.01 to 70 and ‘Financially Resilient’ businesses have a business financial health and resilience score of 70.01 to 100. Index indicator weightings are not equal.

Canada Mean Business Financial Resilience Score for Canada and Segment Distribution

As of December 2025, Canada’s Mean Business Financial Health and Resilience Score is 63.18, indicating that MSMEs are ‘Approaching Resilience’.

There is a significant difference between the mean business financial health and resilience score of Women-Led MSMEs compared to Men-Led MSMEs, validating the need for more intentional support of Women-Led MSMEs. Women also have experienced challenges in terms of financing, as seen in our Canada Business Financial Health and Resilience Ecosystem Report.

Applications

Used in tandem with the Business Financial Health and Resilience Studies Instrument, and complemented by additional data, including transactional banking data and other traditional data and insights on MSME customers, potential applications of the Index include, but are not limited to:

• Baseline and understand the business financial health and resilience of the MSME economy in a partner’s or client’s respective country
  With this forming an understanding for policy and product differentiation to support MSMEs from governments, supporting organizations and financial institutions or service providers.
• Identify segments that may be underserved, knowing that they are an integral part of global economies
  This could include Women-Led MSMEs or those that are underserved from a financing or support perspective from FIs, policymakers and others.
• Identify key drivers of improved business financial health and resilience
  With these being catalysts to enable better business financial resilience and inform the targeting of interventions which lead to better outcomes as needed. Over time, we will be able to link certain key drivers to increased job growth.
  
• Enable the identification of key levers and interventions that MSMEs can pull themselves and that Financial Institutions can leverage to measurably improve business financial health and resilience
• Understand and target the interventions, including growth and other financing, that can help move the dial on improved business financial health and resilience outcomes
  This could include different types of MSME financing, growth financing, digital solutions and more. This can help with prioritization and optimization of impact that will guarantee improved outcomes.
• Potential for MSMEs to uncover behaviours or ways to improve their business financial health and resilience at the individual level

  The Index can be used to create a score tool which MSMEs can use themselves, linked to programs or resources that can help them improve or maintain their business financial health and resilience, similar to our free individual Financial Health and Resilience Score Tool.

More information on the Index and Index methodology is available here. A detailed technical report is available for organizations working with us and utilizing the Index.