The African Development Institute (EADI) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) continues its series of African Officials Training Program on SMEs Policies in Korea. Eleven officials from Gabon completed on 28 February 2014 two-week training on SMEs in Ansan, Korea. This training followed those organized for Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Nigeria and Liberia in 2012 and 2013.

The program provided participants with opportunities to learn more on the Korean SMEs culture and exchange views as well as best practices. They learnt also from the experience of Small Business Institute at Ansan that stood as a vivid case study of start-ups nutshell.

Participants benefited from several field trips at KIA Motors, SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, and NAVER Corporation, Korea's premier internet company. Lessons learnt from the visits include: the full implication of the Korean government in the development of SMEs, the strong entrepreneurship culture, the strategic use of the Credit Guarantee Fund to help SMEs get financing and the strong ownership and management structures.

The manager of the Policy Management Division at the African Development Institute, and Chair of the KOAFEC Secretariat at the AfDB, Bernadette Dia-Kamgnia, participated in the program. She briefed participants on the AfDB's Ten Year Strategy, focusing on infrastructure gap in Africa, the development of the private sector, regional economic integration, and skills and technology.

The training, co-organized with the Korean Small Business Corporation Training Institute (SBCTI), was conducted by high profile professors with more than 25 years of experience in the business of SMEs.