Following the preliminary meeting in Hanoi on the proposed ADFIAP Enterprise Fund during the Association’s annual meetings last May, KfW is hosting ADFIAP this time in Frankfurt on August 20-21, 2007, with a seminar cum dialogue on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The dialogue aims to bring together CEOs/senior officers of ADFIAP member-banks and senior officials of KfW and other German institutions to discuss the main constraints to SME finance as well as financial instruments and approaches that have the greatest potential to promote SME growth. The forum will also be a platform to explore the latest developments, to share lessons learned, and to forge new connections for increasing SMEs access to capital. Fifteen ADFIAP members’ CEOs and senior officers have so far confirmed their participation in the event.

ADFIAP’s relationship with KfW dates back in the 1970’s. In June 1979, at a UNIDO development bank conference in Zurich, ADFIAP together with its counterpart association from Africa (AADFI) and Latin America (ALIDE), signed jointly with KfW an agreement to establish the World Federation of DFIs (WFDFI). Many bilateral exchange visits between KfW and ADFIAP were made during the succeeding years.

KfW Development Bank is a premier financial institution working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that finances investments and accompanying consulting services in developing countries, mostly in the areas of SMEs.