In view of the relatively low level of response from the private sector to early ERP reform measures, the focus was on the liberalization of various sectors, including the financial sector under the Financial Sector Adjustment Programme (FINSAP). Under the FINSAP, direct institutional measures aimed at supporting small enterprises were also put in place. With World Bank assistance, the Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Costs of Adjustment (PAMSCAD) created a special fund to assist microenterprises, and the Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (FUSMED) was initiated to increase the amount of credit available to SMEs through commercial and development banks. This was based on the presumption that poor availability of credit from formal sources was one of the major reasons why the private sector investment had not grown as expected. A major argument was that small firms with good growth potential were being discriminated against (Aryeetey et al., 1994). At the same time, however, the effectiveness of many similar SME credit was being called into question (Webster, 1991).