ADFIAP Representing More Than 120 Development Banks & GCEL Launch Strategic Collaboration

May 17, 2011 - PRLog -- Troy, MI -- Witnessed by the world’s leading development finance institutions, the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics (GCEL) and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) announced a new strategic collaboration to enhance the capacity of the world’s 500 million Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and spur their prosperity. Global experts agree that SMEs, particularly in developing countries, represent a crucial pillar of the new economic order, but lack the business tools they need to be competitive, in terms of global market exposure and access to finance. The new strategic collaboration, which was announced at a special session at the ADFIAP’s annual meeting, will provide SMEs with unprecedented business tools—at no cost to them—as part of GCEL’s global HumaWealth Program.

The new collaboration was formalized with the signing of the AFDIAP-GCEL Communique by GCEL’s Co-Chairman, Captain Samuel Salloum, and ADFIAP’s Chairman and Chairman and CEO of the Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon, Mr. Nihal Fonseka. In signing the Communique, Captain Salloum and Mr. Fonseka agreed this is the right time to help SMEs harness the power of innovation to thrive in the global economy. GCEL’s HumaWealth Program, an 18-month global initiative, lies at the heart of the new strategic collaboration. This Program deploys Soft Infrastructure around the world to deliver a 21st century digital trade platform providing SMEs with tools to trim operating costs, master intelligent e-commerce, plug into global supply chains, and above all else obtain the financing they need. HumaWealth will create a powerful new Financial Dashboard that lowers credit risk and makes SMEs more bankable by giving lenders financial information that is verified, real-time, and complete.

The Communique also proposes the creation of an innovative SME Fund to bridge the huge gap between the financing that SMEs need today and what is currently available. This Fund will be part of GCEL’s global R&D Program, and ADFIAP has been invited to be the first chair of the SME Subcommittee that provides strategic direction to the SME Fund.

This Communique plays a vital role in GCEL’s goal of economic development, through reaching out to SMEs around the world and specifically in the low-income countries. Along with Asia and the Pacific, the Euro-Med region will greatly benefit from the Humawealth Program that is expected to have positive and concrete impacts on all regions, namely the Middle East represented by the Arab World, in the midst of unprecedented and drastic changes on the political levels.

The signing was the culmination of a special ADFIAP-GCEL session on SME Prosperity. The focal point of the session was the global release of a new joint publication, The Tools and Roadmap for SME Prosperity in the 21st Century. This extraordinary session concluded with a Q&A session to discuss the new strategic collaboration and its impact on SMEs, as well as the role expected from development financial institutions.

Mr. Fonseka stressed that the HumaWealth Program provides tools that were previously beyond the reach of SMEs. “The SMEs we work with face enormous challenges being competitive and putting their products in the most promising global markets. The Humawealth SME tools give exactly the visibility, reliability, and totality we need to fund promising SMEs.”

One of the central questions from development banks was how HumaWealth can provide the new SME tools at no cost to the users. Capt. Salloum pointed out that this is due to an innovative global business model. The core technology that powers the digital trade platform, the Global Logistics System, will be delivered by a trusted network of 28 world-class finance, insurance, and technology companies. “These firms have an unprecedented opportunity to market ancillary services on this electronic commercial platform. Ten cents of each dollar of their new revenues will be shared to maintain a world-class core system and make it available to all business users at no cost.”

Mr. Octavia “Bobby” Peralta, the Secretary General of ADFIAP, sees significant potential in the new strategic collaboration between ADFIAP and GCEL. “The tools that HumaWealth provides will make it easier for ADFIAP’s member-institutions to get the job done in financing them.” Earlier in the session, Dr. Mark Drabenstott, GCEL’s Secretary General, presented the key findings of the new joint publication. He noted that legions of new programs around the world are targeting SMEs today.

The HumaWealth Program will tackle these core problems by providing the tools and road map to deliver a digital trade platform that spans the globe and enables the seamless flow of all information associated with trade. This pipeline represents the biggest agglomeration of information on global commerce in the world’s history. It is extraordinarily robust in terms of scale and reach, and has another attribute that makes it even more valuable—it is available in real time.

The ADFIAP-GCEL signing follows several other strategic partnerships that are accelerating the deployment of the HumaWealth Program. In March, GCEL signed an MOU with the League of Arab States as a strategic partner to deploy HumaWealth in the MEA region where it is expected that the program’s impact will trigger the creation of millions in new jobs throughout the region.

GCEL also held a special ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on March 30 that marked the official launch of the Asia Benchmark Trade Lane, an event attended by high-level officials from India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This project will commence in coming months and will mark the first commercial use of GCEL’s powerful Global Logistics System. Following this series of important events, GCEL is in due process of preparation for signing an MOU with the Organization of American States (OAS), to even widen the reach of GCEL’s multi-pillared global program.

About ADFIAP

ADFIAP is the focal point of all development banks and other financial institutions engaged in the financing of development in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to advance sustainable development through its members. Founded in 1976, ADFIAP has currently 127 member-institutions in 44 countries and territories. ADFIAP is a founding member and the Secretariat of the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions composed of regional associations in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. ADFIAP is an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council. The permanent Secretariat of ADFIAP is based in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. More information on ADFIAP can be found at www.adfiap.org

About GCEL

The Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics (GCEL) is a nonprofit public/private partnership based in Switzerland that brings together governments and the private sector to deliver a tangible program achieving sustainable global economic growth. GCEL’s members and supporters include governments and NGO’s from the Americas, Asia, Europe and Middle East/Africa and also private sector members including finance, technology and insurance firms with a workforce of 2.7 million operating in 130 countries and serving 60% of the world’s GDP.

# # #

PressReleasePoint is a public relations agency dedicated to press release writing and distribution services.