Our paper takes the sample of listed companies from Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share SMEs and then theoretically analyzes and empirically tests the impact of digital inclusive finance on the financial performance of SMEs. The results show that financial performance of SMEs located in areas with a higher level of digital inclusive finance is significantly higher. Digital inclusive finance can play a role in expanding the scale of innovative investment, reducing the cost of debt financing and improving the ability of risk-taking, thereby strengthening the financial performance of SMEs. Our findings enrich the academic research on the topic of digital inclusive finance from the perspective of SMEs and provide suggestions to the government, banks and SMEs to continually implement the digital inclusive finance policy.

Digital Inclusive Finance (DIF) is a novel approach that employs digital technology to foster the development of inclusive finance, which can effectively alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises. This paper empirically tests the relationship between DIF and the financial performance of construction enterprises, with a focus of supply chain finance (SCF). The findings indicate that DIF can enhance the financial performance of construction enterprises, and SCF is one of the mechanisms through which DIF affects the financial performance of construction enterprises. Moreover, the cross-sectional analysis reveals that the impact of DIF on financial performance is more pronounced in firms with characteristics of private capital-holding and high operating pressure. This study not only enriches the research perspectives of DIF, but also provides valuable insights for policymakers to formulate effective policies.