The ADFIAP’s Institute of Development Finance (IDF), the training and career development center of the Association, conducted a Study Tour Program on Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise in Malaysia last March 22-26. The program was specially organized for the Association of African Development Financial Institutions or AADFI with 30 participants representing AADFI members and agencies from Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa and Uganda. Providing an Asian-Pacific perspective in the program were four participants from ADFIAP member DFIs from Palau, Vanuatu and Vietnam. ADFIAP was represented in the program by Mr. Roy Sobrecarey, ADFIAP Deputy Secretary General and concurrently Chief Executive of the Institute of Development Finance and Ms. Sandra Honrado, ADFIAP Senior Executive for Programs. The participants were mainly CEOs, COOs, Managing Directors, Administrators and Officers of DFIs and national agencies that are involved in the development of the SME sector in their respective countries.
The program which was co-organized with the MNY Consulting Sdn Bhd was designed to provide the participants with an effective understanding of the policy and regulatory frameworks, business principles and best practices in the SME sector in Malaysia. Through institutional visits, the program provided the participants with the opportunity for direct interaction and dialogue with Senior Officers of Bank Negara Malaysia, SME Corporation, SME Bank, Agrobank and Credit Guarantee Corporation. The program also included visits to various SME projects located in Selangor and Malacca.
The Study Tour Program marked the first collaborative effort between two regional associations of DFIs, AADFI and ADFIAP, which are both members of the World Federation of Development Financial Institutions (WDFI). The program was highlighted by the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on March 26 between ADFIAP and AADFI, represented by their respective Secretary Generals, Mr. Octavio B. Peralta and Mr. Joseph Albert Amihere.
In a related event, IDF will conduct the 5th Study Tour Program on Micro and SME Financing and Development in Hanoi, Vietnam on April 26-30, 2010. For more details , please contact Ms. Sandra Honrado at email shonrado@adfiap.org.