WSF & EABC JOIN FORCES TO
INTEGRATE AFRICAN SMES TO GLOBAL MARKETS
·
World
SME Forum (WSF) and the East African Business Council (EABC) join forces to
integrate African SMEs to global markets. EABC and the WSF signed an
affiliation agreement on 15 November 2017 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
·
WSF
continues to expand the scope of its SME advancement programs to cover African
SMEs as well.
·
EABC to Support and Enhance African SMEs’ Integration to
Global Markets
Dar es salaam, Tanzania: November 15th, 2017: The East African Business Council
(EABC) signed an affiliation agreement with the World SME Forum to support and
enhance African SMEs’ integration to global markets, on 15 November 2017,
during the 2nd East African Business & Entrepreneurship Conference held in
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The agreement, which was signed by Ms. Lilian Awinja,
Executive Director of the EABC and Dr. Tunc Uyanik, President of the World SME
Forum, will form the basis of enhanced collaboration between the respective
institutions and contribute to economic development, job creation and inclusive
growth in EABC countries.
The
WSF gives priority to developing countries in its affiliation drive to
facilitate their access to WSF’s SME development programs, initiated and
implemented at regional and global level with a holistic focus on SME
development. The WSF will work with the EABC to extend the scope of its
activities and programs to the African continent and partnering with leading
chambers and SME associations in the region. This is also in line with the
priorities of the 2017 G20/B20 German Presidency, as well as the OECD and the
World Bank Group, WSF’s institutional partners. In this respect, WSF has also
previously signed affiliation agreements with the Kenya National Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), Burundi Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(CFCIB) and Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR).
About WSF
WSF was established
in May 2015, in response to the recommendation of the 2015
B20 Taskforce on SMEs & Entrepreneurship and with the support of the G20
Finance Ministers. The G20 leaders officially welcomed the creation of WSF
during their November 2015 meetings in Antalya, Turkey, as the first
private-sector led entity to represent and support SME Development. The 2016 China B20
and the 2017 Germany B20 appointed WSF as their Business Network Partner for the
B20 SME Development Taskforce/Working Group. WSF is expected to continue this
role under the 2018 Argentina B20, effectively becoming a “bridge” across
presidencies, ensuring continuity of the SME agenda and helping maintain
momentum in each cycle’s recommendations.
The World Bank, OECD and the International
Trade Center are WSF’s institutional partners.
As a
not-for-profit, global and independent organization, the mission of WSF is to
improve the overall growth and impact of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
globally. Partnering with international financial
institutions (IFIs), development agencies, associations working in the SME
space, and chambers, WSF works to advance the recognition of the role of SMEs
in the global economy.
The work of the WSF is structured
under three pillars in order to tackle major bottlenecks that impede SME
growth:
·
Advocacy
and Research
WSF participates in the deliberations
of international governance bodies, such as G20, APEC, WTO, global standard
setting bodies, and relevant UN agencies to ensure that the interests of SMEs
are more effectively represented and conducts networking events and research to
share best practices, facilitate capacity building, make connections and
enhance influence
·
Advisory
Services
WSF offers advisory services and
technical assistance to chambers, government agencies and SME associations-
including guidelines, frameworks, capacity building (both face to face and
online) and technical assistance for their SME members to improve access to
markets, GVCs and finance
·
SME-Market Link (SME.Market) WSF designs and implements online platforms
(both country to country and global) to facilitate global connectivity and
trading amongst SMEs, provide scalable access to markets by linking SMEs to
GVCs, provide information and targeted capacity building and facilitate access
to finance
Since November 2017, WSF has been
continuing its engagements and operations in the United States and continuing
its engagements in Turkey, as well.
About
East African Business Council (EABC)
The
East African Business Council (EABC) is the apex advocacy body of the Private
Sector from the East African Countries. It was established in 1997 to foster
the interests of the Private Sector in the Integration process of the East
African Community.
EABC’s
vision is to be the
dynamic apex body of the private sector in the East African Community, in
fostering sustained economic growth and prosperity in the region.
Being
the representative of Private Sector associations in the region, EABC was
granted observer status in organs and activities of the East African Community
(EAC). Therefore, EABC participates in various sectoral meetings, meetings of
the Coordination Committee, Council of Ministers’ Meetings and the Summit of
the EAC Heads of State; with a view to ensuring that the agenda of the Private
Sector is well articulated and received by the policy makers. Visit: www.eabc.info
For
more information please contact:
Ms.
Lilian Awinja – Chief Executive Officer
The
East African Business Council (EABC) - The Voice of Private Sector in East
Africa
P.
O. Box 2617 | Plot No. 01 | Olorien House | Perfect Printers Street |
Arusha | Tanzania
Selma
Kozak
World SME
Forum (WSF)
0 comments:
Post a Comment