The
African Development Bank (AfDB) and
EMRC jointly organised the
AfDB-EMRC SME Forum, which was held from 6-7 June 2011
in Lisbon, Portugal as a prelude to the
African Development Bank's Annual Meetings.
The forum was held in conjunction with EMRC's
Africa Finance & Investment Forum 2011 and focused on bridging the Missing Middle Gap in Africa.
The AfDB-EMRC SME Forum aimed at fostering growth and increasing the flow of financial and non-financial support of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). Considered the "missing middle" in Africa, SMEs offer a seedbed for local private sector development, but currently lack the necessary capital and the institutional and the environment's support to realise their potential contribution to growth and development.
MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) account for 95% of business in Africa and if developed would have an enormous potential in creating jobs, contributing to GDP and growth in all areas of the economy including production, marketing and consumption.
Delegates attending the AfDB-EMRC SME Forum were also invited to take part in the AfDB Annual Meetings' other side events from 6-10 June.
The AfDB-EMRC SME Forum Report will be available soon in the meantime, you can download the 2009 Africa Finance & Investment Forum report:
English
Français
Português
Please do visit our Flickr site and view photos of the AfDB-EMRC SME Forum
here.
About AfDB Annual Meetings
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a regional multilateral development bank with the objective to mobilize resources to finance operations that will foster economic development and social progress in the Bank's Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The Bank's mission is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions for Africans and mobilize resources for the continent’s economic and social development.
With this objective in mind, the institution aims at assisting African countries – individually and collectively - in their efforts to achieve sustainable economic development and social progress.
The Annual Meetings are the AfDB’s Board of Governors meetings. They are provided for in article 31 of the Agreement Establishing the African Development Bank.
For more information please visit the AfDB website
here
About AfDB-EMRC SME Forum
OBJECTIVES
-
Increase the
growth and the flow of financial and non-financial support to the Missing
Middle in Africa
- Identify
financial and business opportunities for this important segment of the
business community
- Analyse the market constraints
faced by Missing Middle SMEs and possible solutions
- Share examples of
successful financial innovations (credit scoring, payment systems, financial
products), as well as non-financial services (approaches to technical
assistance)
- Present successful programs
of SME bank financing, private equity / mezzanine finance funds, leasing,
factoring and other types of finance
- Showcase the AfDB and its IFI
and bi-lateral partners’ activities in stimulating financial flows to SMEs in
Africa
- Highlight approaches to
enhance collaboration between non-African and African SMEs and develop
partnerships
- Showcase African
‘Missing Middle’ success stories
Travel
Brussels Airlines was designated as the Official Carrier of the AfDB-EMRC SME Forum.
Who attended?
- Commercial & development banks;
- Investment and business promotion facilitators, agencies and trade associations;
- Private sector businesses seeking strategic partners;
- Project Managers / Developers;
- International organisations;
- Import and export organisations;
- Ministers and other Government officials;
- CEOs/Managing Directors from all sectors of activity;
- Research institutes and business schools