ADFIAP and its counterpart regional association, the African Association of DFIs (AADFI) https://www.adfi-ci.org/ held a study tour program in Manila on July 13-17, 2015, with the theme, “Study Tour Program on DFIs, MSMEs, and the Rural Industrialization.” Twelve (12) senior officers of DFIs from Botsawana, Cote D’Ivore, Ghana, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia attended the program. They were joined by three (3) other officers from IDBI Bank Ltd. of India, an ADFIAP member.
The one-week study tour program has been structured to give the participants a relevant and practical perspective of micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) financing and development that lead to rural industrialization. The program started with a presentation by the Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED) on the Philippine MSME sector as well as its government’s policies and thrusts on non-financial assistance programs for them. The BSMED is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) mandated to promote and develop MSMEs in the country. The participants also shared their respective countries’ MSME sector and the role that their institutions play in its development.
Institutional visits were made to six (6) financial and MSME institutions in and outside Metro Manila for the participants to be briefed on the following topics: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (Central Bank) for its regulatory role on DFIs and MSME promotion and development; Asian Development Bank (ADB) to learn about its initiatives in the financial sector as well as the trends and challenges of SME finance in Asia; Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), the top tier government financial institution in the country, to learn about the bank’s various programs for the MSME sector development; Philippine Export-Import Agency (PHILEXIM), a government institution attached to the Department of Finance (DoF), to know about issues concerning a guarantee agency; Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD-MRI), a microfinance institution that is a conglomeration of 14 institutions offering complementary development services to its members and SME projects supported by BSMED-DTI. To balance the learning process, the program also included a cultural orientation and visitation to historical sites in Metro Manila. This Manila event was the 5th study tour program jointly organized by ADFIAP and AADFI. Earlier events were conducted in Malaysia, India, Korea, and Italy.
For interest in study tour programs conducted by the ADFIAP and/or any course related to development banking and sustainable development, please email the ADFIAP Secretariat at [email protected]