Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development

ADF’s SME development activities includes providing training and technical assistance to SMEs, facilitating access to credit, investment and markets, and support for capacity building of SME development agencies, business associations and resource centers.

 ADF facilitates access to credit for SMEs, cooperatives, and enterprises in many ways including organizing municipal bank fairs. These bank fairs conducted in partnership with local municipalities offer presentations by banks of their credit programs and application procedures. The bank fairs include presentations of commercial banks including those banks with special SME funds supported by donors as well as national and regional development funds. ADF provides consulting services to  SMEs seeking assistance in developing business plans and credit applications.

ADF works to ensure rural credit programs are available to farmers and cooperatives. For example, ADF provides technical assistance to farmers to increase the quality and quantity of their products; introduce value-added services; locate markets, and help negotiate forward sales contracts. ADF assistance to farmers includes preparing budgets, income statements, cash flow projections, and balance sheets for business plans, as well as in qualifying and applying for credit programs.

 

ADF provides assistance to SME development agencies, Chambers of Commerce and other business associations to strengthen their capacities to provide sustainable business services to SMEs. ADF assists these organizations with training and technical assistance in such areas as financial management, strategic planning, marketing and securing access to credit, investment and markets.

Where business services providers are not available, ADF has experience organizing  Business Services Resource Centers to provide SMEs, farmers, cooperatives with such services as consulting; business registration; business planning; facilitating access to credit and capital markets.