Our Projects (a selection)

AFC Newsletter

for Partners and Colleagues

2010

1Agriculture Agribusiness

Financial SectorDevelopment

Regional, Economic &Institutional Development

Cross CuttingCompetences

Agriculture AgribusinessFinancial Sector

DevelopmentRegional, Economic &

Institutional DevelopmentCross CuttingCompetences

Contents

Our Company and Strategy Development

Our Projects (a selection)

Internal news from colleagues

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Our achievements in the year 2009 and challenges for the year 2010

AFC participates in the Cooperation Market in the framework of theconference „Agrilculture and Climate Change — New ConceptProposals from Policymakers and Industry“

China: Preparing the Jiangxi Sustainable Forest EcosystemDevelopment Project

Mongolia: AFC/ADG support XacBank, Mongolia, in Capacity Building inRisk Management

Germany: AFC welcomes delegation from Tajikistan

Tajikistan: AFC welcomes delegation from Tajikistan

Nigeria: Cooperation with the Central Bank of Nigeria. Support to theMicrofinance Certification Programme (MCP)

Philippines: Promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energies inthe Philippines

Egypt: Egyptian German Private Sector Development Programme(GTZ). Component 2: Resource and Energy Efficiency in the FoodIndustry

Morocco: AFC supports the quality improvement of Moroccan agro-alimentary products

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1Agriculture Agribusiness

Financial SectorDevelopment

Regional, Economic &Institutional Development

Cross CuttingCompetences

Our Company

Our achievements in the year 2009and challenges for the year 2010

AFC Consultants InternationalGmbH became a member of theGOPA Group in 2007 and continuesto benefit from the huge inter-national network and internal tailor-made services for group members.During the last few years we havefurther streamlined our profile andwere very successful in 2009 withthe acquisition of new projects in ourmain fields of work.

Services in rural development, agri-culture and agribusiness remain ourcore competences and we areactive in these fields of work in LatinAmerica, Africa, Eastern Europeand Asia. In cooperation with one ofour strategic partners, the GermanAgricultural Society (DLG), we haveimplemented projects in the PRChina and Morocco.

In 2009, AFC Consultants Inter-national GmbH was awarded con-tracts for the following new projects:

ACP (African Caribbean Pacific)countr ies: Gender awareapproaches in agricultural pro-grammes: a comparative studyof SIDA-supported agriculturalp rog rammes (11 /2009 –05/2010), SIDA;

Belize: Enhancement of nationalsanitary and phytosanitarycapacity (02/2009 – 09/2009),TradeCom/EDF;

Chad: Support to the auto-nomisation of the regionaldevelopment programme (01 /2010 – 12/2011), DEZA;

China: Preparing the Jiangxisustainable forest ecosystemdevelopment project (05/2009 –12/2009),ADB;

Egypt: Private sector develop-ment programme – component2 : resource and energyefficiency in the food industry(12/2009 – 06/2012), GTZ;

El Salvador, Honduras, Guate-mala: Protection of tropicalforests and management ofwater catchment areas (CAMA-RENA) (03/2009 – 12/2011),GTZ;

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Ghana: Marked-oriented agri-culture programme (MOAP)(07/2009 – 11/2011), GTZ;

Kosovo: Supporting the foodindustry – dairy and wine sectorstudies (01/2009 – 03/2009),GTZ;

Mali: Projects: "Irrigation exten-sion Siengo" and "Valorisation ofthe agricultural potential inN'Débougou" (10/2009 – 09 /2013), KfW;

Niger: Final evaluation of theprojects "Support to landdevelopment in Dosso depart-ment" and "Regional supportprogramme for primary educa-tion development in Dosso" (09 /2009 – 10 / 2009), Lux Develop-ment;

Sub-Saharan Africa: Pre-fea-sibility study for an African out-grower development fund (03 /2009 – 09 / 2009), KfW;

Tadjikistan: Support to SME (2ndphase, 03/2009 – 12/2011),GTZ; and

Worldwide: Multiple frameworkcontract with reopened compe-tition for the provision ofevaluation, impact assessmentand related services to theCommission in the areas ofpublic health, consumer protec-tion and food chain (lot 1, publichealth), (2009 – 2011), EC.

We very much appreciate the trustthat new donor agencies, namelyD E Z A ( S w i t z e r l a n d ) , L u xDevelopment (Luxembourg) andSIDA (Sweden), show in ourservices.

In line with many experts working ininternational cooperation, werealise the need to increaseagricultural production globally as aresponse to the growth of theworld's population, regional foodshortages, caused by naturalcatastrophes, and the reduction ofarable land for food production,brought about by the rising demandfor bio energy.

Therefore, beneficiaries and donoragencies will continue to call on ourqualified services for strengtheningagricultural production and thewhole value chain.

The challenges of improving globalfood security and food safety werealso highlighted by almost all spea-kers during the “Global Forum forFood and Agriculture” in Berlin inJanuary 2010, an event organisedby the Federal Ministry of Food,Agriculture and Consumer Protec-tion (BMELV).AFC has been partici-pating in this annual forum with a fairstand of its own for the past16 years.

Financial system development isanother core competence of AFCthat also creates valuable synergieswith the fields of work mentionedabove. For several years already,we have been implementing pro-jects in this subject area in coope-ration with our strategic partner, theAcademy of German Cooperatives(ADG) based in Montabaur.

New projects focus on the followingtasks:

China: Microfinance programmeChina, phase A (01/2010 –07/2012), KfW;

India: Design of a "promotionalprogramme for energy efficientnew residential housing in India"(06/2009 – 12/2009), KfW;

Kyrgyz Republic: Sustainableeconomic development pro-gramme: TApackage 1: set-up ofa national savings and creditcooperative association and TApackage 2: support financialinstitutions in value chainfinancing (08/2009 – 12/2010),GTZ;

Mongolia: Capacity building inrisk management at Xac Bank(12/2009 – 08/2010), KfW;

Nepal: Rural finance sectordevelopment cluster programme(sub-programme II) (05/2009 –02/2010),ADB;

Yemen: Private sector develop-ment: risk management, inter-national audit and savingsstrategy at Al Amal Bank (11 /2009 – 08/2010), GTZ; and

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Our Company

� Philippines: Credit Line forEnergy Efficiency and ClimateProtection (01/2010 – 12/2011),KFW.

A specialised department at AFC ischarged with implementing theseprojects in financial systemdevelopment.

In January 2010, AFC/ADGorganised the “2nd Financial ExpertDay” in Montabaur to exchange ex-periences and views related to rurallending with our associated experts.The event was highly appreciatedby the more than 30 participants anda 3rd Financial Expert Day willsurely take place in January 2011.

Johannes BuschmeierManaging Director

Tel.: +49(0)[email protected]

Hans OttoManaging Director

Tel.: +49(0)[email protected]

AFC participates in the Cooperation Market in the frameworkof the conference "Agriculture and Climate Change– New Concept Proposals from Policymakers and Industry".Berlin 2010

Climate protection is one of the keychallenges facing us today inenvironmental, social and economicpolicy terms. This holds true for allsectors at both global and regionallevels.

At this year's International GreenWeek, the Federal Ministry of Food,Ag r i cu l t u re and ConsumerProtection (BMELV) organised aconference on the sub jec t"Agriculture and Climate Change –New Concept Proposals fromPolicymakers and Industry", whichcent red on the cha l lengesassociated with climate changeand, at the same time, followed upon the theme “food security” whichwas the main focus of the fair in2009. Agriculture ministers fromaround the globe were invited tocome to Berlin to attend theInternationalAgriculture Ministers'

Panel Discussion and the BerlinSummit of Agriculture Ministers on16 January 2010 in order to discussexperiences and concept proposalsin the field of climate protection andthe adaptation strategies pursuedby their countries.

During this conference AFCparticipated in the CooperationMarket and presented its com-prehensive portfolio of projects inCentral and Eastern Europe, Asia,Africa.

and Latin America. Numerousexperts from the sectors of ruraldevelopment and climate change,and representatives from privatecompanies, donors and officialdelegations seized the opportunityto meetAFC personnel.

For more information, pleasecontact:

Barbara BraunHuman Resource Manager

Tel.: +49(0)228-98 [email protected]

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China: Preparing the Jiangxi Sustain-able Forest Ecosystem DevelopmentProject

The People's Republic of China(PRC) is the third largest consumerof timber in the world and faces awidening imbalance betweensupply and demand for woodproducts. The present consumptionlevel of about 300 million cubicmeters of standing stock exceedsthe present annual growth rate ofthe local forests. This deficit is beingmade up by imports. Although theGovernment of the PRC has takensteps to address the widening wooddeficit by investing in plantations, ithas not, until recently, tackled thesector's fundamental imbalances.

Jiangxi is a landlocked provincelocated in the south-east of thePRC. It is surrounded by sixprovinces:Anhui province borderingthe southern banks of the middleand lower reaches of the YangtzeRiver in the north, Zhejiang provincein the northeast, Fujian province inthe east, Guangdong province in thesouth, province Hunan in the west

and Hubei pro-v ince in thenorthwest. Itsland area islargely charac-terised by hillsa n d s t e e pmountains; theclimate showssubtropical fea-tures.

The fores t rysector plays animportant role inthe economy ofthe province,not only provi-ding timber andpanel productsfor the largeconstruction sector, raw material forthe provincial pulp and paper in-dustry, and a significant part of ruralhousehold energy, but also in theprotection of biodiversity and wa-tersheds. Forest land occupies 10.6million ha, which corresponds to62.5% of the province's total area.Stocking is estimated at 353.5million m³, which corresponds to anaverage of 34.4 m³ per ha, only 44%of the national average. Despite thislow stock density, Jiangxi provinceis an important production area forwood and bamboo, even whencompared with the total main forestproduct output in the PRC, ac-counting for 7% and 8% of thePRC's total wood and bamboo

output respec-tively.

Jiangxi Provinceranks 3rd in thePRC in terms offorest cover; butthe forest landsare not used totheir full poten-tial. The develop-ment of forest re-sources is stag-nant, mainly dueto past overex-ploitation of fo-rest resourcesand the lack of

sufficient funding to adopt appro-priate sustainable forest manage-ment practices. Existing forestresources are characterised byyoung and middle-aged stands,

established through tree plantationswhich show deficiencies in quality,growth and species composition.Additionally, about 15% (or 1.5million hectares) of forestlandsacross the province are composedof open forests, shrub lands, andbarren hills, which are low yieldingand underutilised. In addition to thealready existing structural defi-ciencies, a severe snow storm in thebeginning of 2008 provided a strongblow to the forest sector in Jiangxiprovince. The snow storm damaged4.6 million ha or nearly half of theprovincial forests and caused aneconomic loss estimated at CNY3.45 billion.

The high percentage of under-utilised and poorly managed fo-restlands in the province is not onlya waste of land resources; but alsocauses serious environmental prob-lems such as soil erosion, siltationand flooding. Furthermore, expe-rience shows that poorly managedforests easily fall subject to naturaldisasters such as the massive snowstorm of January 2008. Until June2009, less than 30% of the da-maged forests had been clearedand restored, which aggravates thealready existing problem of poorlystocked and underutilised forestland and the related environmentalhazards.

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To address these issues and tofurther improve forest cover andforest yields of selected barrenlands in the province, the JiangxiProvincial Government (JPG)requested the Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) to finance its JiangxiSustainable Forest EcosystemDevelopment Project. In response,ADB approved in November 2008 aproject preparatory technicalassistance (PPTA) to prepare thisproject, for which the executingagency (EA) is the provincialgovernment's Department of Fo-restry.

On 18 May 2009, the PPTA teamfielded by AFC Consultants Inter-national started activities in Jiangxiprovince with the inception phase,assisting the EA in project prepa-ration.

Milestones during the PPTAimplementation were the inceptionworkshop on 16 June 2009, theinterim workshop on 22 September2009, both held in Nanchang, theprovince' capital city, and the finalworkshop on 25 January 2010, heldin Jingdezhen, a city famous for andwidely regarded as the producer ofthe best porcelain in China, andhome to one of the largest stateforest farms in the province.

The project is designed to achieveimproved forest management andenvironmental sustainability inJiangxi Province, with 24 countiesbeing invited to participate, of whichsix are national poverty counties.The participating counties wereselected based on the followingcriteria:

(i) project implementation capacityand adequate sizes and sites ofland resources;

(ii) capability of repayment andcommitment to providing coun-terpart funds; and

(iii)capability of adopting a bottom-up decision-making process toensure community and voluntaryparticipation.

Services provided by the PPTAteam made up of 3 international and

7 national experts included, amongothers, the following:

identification of sector issuesand recommendation of sustain-able solutions;

evaluation of the rationale andjustifications for the proposedinvestment activities;

assessment of opportunities forpromoting low-carbon growthand private sector participationin forest development in theprovince;

preparation of safeguard docu-ments and a knowledge producton forest land rehabilitation tofacilitate policy dialogue;

establishment of a geographicinformation system (GIS) for usein selected counties;

implementation of training cour-ses to strengthen the institutio-nal capacity in project implemen-tation and natural disaster riskmanagement of the participatingprovincial and county level insti-tutions;

preparation of an investmentplan with implementation arran-gements eligible for ADBfunding;

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organisation of overseas trainingon sustainable forest manage-ment and climate changeadaptation;

preparation of a project designsuitable for ADB financing andagreed upon by the governmentandADB; and

development of a proposal forco-financing by the Global En-vironment Facility (GEF) orADB's Climate Change Fund tosupport climate change adap-tation and mitigation.

Based on the final report of our TAteam, loan negotiations betweenthe Chinese government and ADBare scheduled for late summer2010.


Johannes GeisenSenior Consultant Asia

Tel.: +49 228 98 57 [email protected]

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AFC/ADG support XacBank, Mongoliain Capacity Building in RiskManagement

AFC and its strategic partner ADG(Academy of German CooperativeBanks, Montabaur) were awarded atechnical assistance contract byKfW at the end of 2009 to assistXacBank in its efforts to enhancethe key areas of risk management.The consulting services entail thedevelopment of improved policiesand procedures, state-of-the-art riskmeasurement tools, enhancedreporting systems and related stafftraining in three units of the Bank:Integrated Risk ManagementDivision, Internal Audit Division andTreasury Department. AFC/ADGstarted the project at the beginningof December 2009 with a firstmission which assessed theprocedures and systems in place.

During the implementation phasefrom January until June our fourexperts cooperated with theaforementioned units to improveXacBank's enterprise-wide riskmanagement, treasury and internalaudit systems. Four XacBank staffmembers will have the chance toparticipate in a study tour at the endof June to ADG's training facilities inMontabaur. In addition to class roomtraining in Montabaur castle,several visits to cooperative andother banks are planned. After afollow-up phase in August theproject will come to a close.

With this project AFC/ADG willensure that appropriate integratedrisk management foundations areput in place to enable the bank togrow and achieve its business

objective in becoming a “dynamicleader in providing inclusivefinancial services and innovativeproducts” in Mongolia. So far,XacBank has become one of thedominating banks in the Mongolianmicrolending market in terms of thenumber and volume of loans

Susan GilleProject Manager


outstanding. It has furthermore aprivileged outreach through itscomparatively large domesticnetwork and its mobile bankingservices which are provided byagents and merchants throughoutthe country.

AFC and ADG have been imple-menting projects in Mongolia duringthe last couple of years. A long-termproject supporting the institutionaldevelopment of the MongolianCooperative Training and Infor-mation Center was successfullyimplemented by AFC from 2005-2008. ADG has been managing aGTZ-funded project “Support ofBanking Training Centre of Bank ofMongolia” since 2005.

Thus, we look forward to newchallenges in Mongolia and arepleased to cooperate with XacBankwhich is well known both inMongolia and other countries.


Background information XacBank

� XacBank - the first commercial bank in Mongolia with a social mission - was created as theresult of a merger of the two largest non-bank financial institutions in Mongolia, in October2001.

XacBank is a leading provider of development finance in Mongolia, delivering innovativeproducts and inclusive services to all the regions of the country through a rural presenceand extensive network of 67 branches. Its clientele not only represents the lower-incomesegment of the market – micro-entrepreneurs - but also a growing number of small andmedium-sized enterprises.

XacBank's core products include a wide array of current and savings accounts, variouscredit and lending products, as well as both domestic and international remittances. Thebank also boasts an ever-growing range of innovative products in the market, includingmobile banking services, rural franchisee service for cooperatives, herder loans,household loans and financial leasing, as well as new residential housing loans.

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Chinese delegation undertakesagricultural study tour to Germany

Within the framework of the project“Joint German-Chinese Pilot Farmin Ganhe” the consortium DLG-Agriservice/AFC ConsultantsInternational coordinated a firststudy tour for Chinese guests, whichtook place from 8 to 15 November2009. The delegation was headedby Mr Liu Min, Director General ofthe Agricultural Machinery TestingCentre, Ministry of Agriculture,

Beijing. The group included threeparticipants from the Ministry itselfand four from the demonstrationfarm Ganhe. Horst Bunge, projectmanager in Ganhe and StefanieMaak, AFC consultant, led thegroup through a diversified pro-gramme which consisted of a balan-

perts.At the summit, Mr Fan Xueminof the Agriculture MechanizationAdministration Department in theChinese Ministry of Agriculture,presented a report on the develop-ment of the Chinese agriculturalmachinery sector and emphasisedthe increased support from theChinese government. Mr Busch-meier, Managing Director of AFC,gave a speech on the project “JointGerman-Chinese Pilot Farm inGanhe” and informed the audienceabout the results of the first season.

Another highlight of the study tourwas the opportunity given to thedelegation to visit three of the com-panies involved in the project:CLAAS, LEMKEN and GRIMME. Allopened their doors to the Chinesegroup and provided an inside viewof the history and development oftheir firms. Moreover, the group gotto know a local seed dealer andKWS, one of the leading inter-national seed companies, specia-lised in corn and sugar beet.

As training in technical and mana-gement skills is a remarkable com-

ponent in the Ganhe project, thedelegation visited a German agri-cultural training centre (DEULA).Currently, two Chinese traineesfrom Ganhe farm are working onGerman farms. The purpose of thisinternship is to boost their agri-cultural know-how and at the sametime develop their German lan-guage skills. They will work astranslators for Mr Bunge in 2010.Their host families welcomed theChinese delegation to their farms.This provided a chance for the Chi-nese to get to know two differentGerman farms, one being a dairyfarm (400 cows, milking parlour androbotic milking systems, 215 ha)and the other a mixed farm (900pigs, oilseed production, biogas,310 ha).

ced mix of visits to a trade fair,German farms, companies in thefield of agriculture as well as somecultural features typical for Ger-many.

The study tour started with theinternational trade fair for agricul-tural machinery “Agritechnica” inHanover. More than 2,300 compa-nies presented their machines,equipment, spare parts andaccessories at the world's largest

exhibition for agricultural tech-nology. Around 350,000 visitors,including over 77,000 internationalguests, came to the exhibitiongrounds. The worldwide leadingtrade fair for the agriculturalmachinery sector was a greatenvironment for meetings andnetworking opportunities for boththe Chinese and the German projectpartners.

On 10 November, the Chinese dele-gation visited the “Chinese-European Farm MechanisationSummit” at the “Agritechnica”. Thiswas the first event of its kind, brin-ging together Chinese and Euro-pean agricultural machinery ex-

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German food and culture were alsopart of the study tour: The groupenjoyed a combined dinner/theatreeven t w i th ac roba t i cs andpantomime in Hanover and visitedthe Cologne cathedral which is aUNESCO World Heritage site.

According to a Chinese proverb, ajourney of a thousand miles begins

with a single step. The delegation'strip in November 2009 serves as aninitial step to a strong and long-lasting German-Chinese relation-ship within the project and has pro-vided participants with a new per-spective in their fields of expertise.The next Chinese delegation isplanned to visit Germany in June2010, on the occasion of the DLG“Feldtag” or field day, known as an

information exchange for modernplant production.

For further information pleasecontact:

Stefanie MaakProject Manager

[email protected]

Or:

Johannes BuschmeierManaging Director

[email protected]

and

Horst BungeTeam leader in Ganhe

[email protected]

Tel.: +49(0)228-98 579-59

Tel.: +49(0)228-98 579-60



Institutional DevelopmentCross CuttingCompetences 7





AFC welcomes delegation fromTajikistan

In December 2006 AFC/CAICOstarted the GTZ-financed project“Support to SME Development inTajikistan”. Since March 2009 weentered Phase II which aims toimprove demand-oriented enter-prise-related services in Dushanbe(the country's capital), in the nor-thern Sughd region (with the capitalKhujand) and in Gorno BadakhshanAutonomous Province (GBAO) inthe east (capital: Khorugh).

In terms of business activities andentrepreneurship, the Dushanbearea shows the most dynamicdevelopment, accounting for morethan 39% of the total number ofsmall and medium enterprises(SMEs) active in Tajikistan.

Due to its very mountainous geo-graphy, GBAO is difficult to accessand has a very low populationdensity (3% of the total Tajik popu-lation). It is therefore the least deve-loped region of the country, with asmall SME sector.

In contrast, the Sughd region is oneof the most developed and indus-trialised regions of the country,contributing 17% of industrial outputto the economy. Twelve percent ofall companies with foreign invest-ments are situated in this region.

Women play an important role asindividual entrepreneurs in the SMEsector. Survey results indicate that42% of those working as individualentrepreneurs are women. In thesegment of SMEs with two em-ployees: on average, out of 3 enter-prises more than 1 is managed by awoman.

The project's goal is to support thedevelopment of SMEs in Tajikistanby improving the business environ-ment, developing training and ex-tension services, improving enter-prises management and fosteringstrategic development. In Tajikistanthe institutional and political enter-prise support structure is still under-developed. Instruments to supportSMEs and to increase regionalvalue chains and additional net-works are hardly known. However,SMEs need a supportive environ-ment to be able to both increasetheir economic performance andcontribute to regional economicdevelopment.

The following consulting servicesare provided byAFC:

overall project management;

support to individual pilot SMEs,agribusiness and start-up enter-prises through exemplary sup-

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port measures;

establishing the Centre forAssociations and SME Excel-lence as an umbrella organisa-tion, training and service centrefor SME associations;

elaboration of service and mar-keting concepts for associations;

members' and branch analysisfor associations;

advice in the elaboration of asupport policy for SMEs andstart-ups;

preparation and organisation ofspecific trainings;

development of structures forsetting up an advisory servicesystem;

network development includingmicro-finance institutions;

identification, planning and con-ducting of exemplary supportmeasures, particularly for trai-ning local advisers;

advising selected associationsin the improvement and expan-sion of their services; and

support of agricultural enterpri-ses and agro-processing indus-tries, training of trainers, transi-tion towards market-orientedagriculture, support to govern-ment organisations.

One crucial component of Phase IIis to provide technical assistance forthe development of an “umbrella”association “The Centre for Asso-ciation and SME Excellence(CASE)” which is to cater to Tajikbusiness association leaders. The“umbrella” in Tajikistan will provideessential services to its memberssuch as advocacy support for mem-ber issues, educational program-mes, training for association leadersand managers as well as owners ofmicro, small and medium busines-ses. It will also provide extensivecommunication to keep the mem-bers well informed.

The study tour started in Albania on20 November 2009 and ended inBerlin on 2 December 2009. EdBeaman, Senior International Con-sultant of AFC, organised the mee-tings inAlbania with theAssociation

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Business Management Center(ABMC) and the A lban ianAgribusiness Council (KASH). AFCwelcomed the group of associationleaders from Tajikistan in Berlin.During this study tour meetingswere arranged with: the Fruit and

Vegetable Wholesale Market, theFederation of German Food andDrink Industries (BVE), the Cham-bers of Industry and Commerce andits Association (DIHK), the GermanAssociation for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) and theGerman Federal Bakers Associ-ation in Berlin.

The following key issues were ofparticular importance to the parti-cipants:

organisational structure

networking- and associationmembership

services

membership due regulation

foreign trade

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lobbying in politics, chambersand associations

marketing

supply chain management

Each presentation was followed bya fruitful dialogue with intensivequestion and answer sessions onspecific factors and their success.

To sum up: twelve associationleaders from Tajikistan together withkey staff from AFC spent an inter-esting and highly efficient time inAlbania and in Germany. The studytour was well received by all parti-cipants. It gave them a perfect net-working opportunity, providing ener-gy as well as new ideas for thedevelopment of small and mediumenterprises, valuable insights and abetter understanding of how SMEcentres work in Albania and in Ger-many, thus showing them how asimilar organisation could functionin Tajikistan.

The last evening of the 14-day studytour ended with a merry get-together in Berlin and in the midst ofthe season's Christmas atmos-phere.

The project is to run until the end of2011 and is a part of the GTZ prog-ramme “Sustainable Economic De-velopment” headed by Mr BerndBenning. We will report about theproject results again.

For further information pleasecontact:

AFC BonnJohannes Buschmeier

Managing Director

Tel.:+49(0)[email protected]

Elena BakayFinancial Manager

Tel.:+49(0)[email protected]

Manzura Makhkamova, DeputyTeam Leader

[email protected]

AFC/CAICO DushanbeHartwig Ungethüm, Project Leader

[email protected]

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Cooperation with the Central Bank of NigeriaSupport to the Microfinance Certification Programme (MCP)

In April 2004 AFC took over theresponsibility for the FinancialServices Component (FS) within theGTZ's Employment-or ientedPrivate Sector Development Pro-gramme (EoPSD). The objective ofthe FS is to support capacity buil-ding of financial service providerswithin the microfinance sector asone of the key factors to improve theefficiency of micro, small andmedium enterprises and to expandtheir business and employmentpotential. This also includes supportto regulating authorities like theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN first approached theEoPSD - FS Component in 2006 toenhance the acquisition of appro-priate microfinance operationalskills for the management of micro-finance banks (MFB).

On the initiative of the CBN and inagreement with GTZ, the FSComponent initiated a pilot missionin September 2009 to identify thestarting point and the needs of theCBN in the field of developing andimplementing a microfinance certi-fication programme (MCP).

During this mission it became clearthat point of departure was no lon-ger valid and that the assumptionsthat determined the initial terms ofreference for the technical assis-tance (TA) had changed conside-rably.

� The institutional framework haschanged and is not clearlystructured.

Since 2007 CBN already workedwith a consultant to trainregulators and trainers outsidethe MCP.

The CBN has neither conceptnor plan for ensuring the properimplementation of such aprogramme by the differentstakeholders, including TA.

A change in legislation at end of2007 determined that theChartered Institute of Bankers(CIBN) is to be the exclusiveauthority for examining andcertifying MF trainers and will beresponsible together with CBNfor examining and authorisingtraining material, and forexamining the local trainers whotrain operators.

Finally, it needs to be consideredthat microfinance is still notsufficiently understood by theproject partners', which makes itdifficult to apply the standardskills requirements for MFBmanagement.

Nevertheless, the mission resultedin the participatory elaboration of atraining skills and competencescatalogue, to which the relevantstakeholders agreed.Aparticipa-

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tory-based action plan is currentlybeing elaborated.

The mission experienced difficultiesin harmonising cooperation andcollaboration. A common under-standing of the project and acommitment to the action plan,including the provision for a workingunit, will be the minimum require-ments for GTZ to continue coope-ration.


Jochen Ressmann-EsserRegional Director South America

and Africa


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Promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energiesin the Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines is anarchipelago of 7,107 islands thatstretch to more than 1,800 kilo-metres between the island nationsof Borneo to the south and Taiwan tothe north. Inhabited by a populationof 85 million (50% of whom are ruralinhabitants), the country is divided

into three main island groups,Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,each being a complex economy inits own right with great variations inthe levels of economic developmentand energy demand.

Given its vast size and large popu-lation, the Philippines are a prodi-gious user of energy. In spite ofsome coal deposites and recentlyidentified additional indigenous oiland gas resources, the country isdependent on imports for most of itsfossil fuels. The high cost of thisdependence motivated the countryto aggressively seek domestic alter-native solutions well before energyefficiency and the development ofalternative energy sources becamemajor global concerns. As a result,the Philippines are already able tomeet close to half of their energyneeds from indigenous renewablesources, primarily geothermal ener-gy and solid biomass fuels.

It is the Philippines' priority to deve-lop indigenous energy resources inline with the country's energy deve-lopment objectives. The Philippineshave extensive natural resourcesthat can be utilised as renewableenergy. In addition to still untappedbiomass and geothermal energysources, there is also great potentialfor wind and hydro development.There is also a ready market awai-ting the realization of these oppor-

tunities as the government's up-dated 2008 energy plan projects a6% increase in electricity demandby 2014. Furthermore, climatechange and emission reductionobjectives are already being acti-vely pursued as a matter of national

development, supported by com-prehensive Philippine legislationand donor programmes.

The German Governement's newInitiative for Climate and Environ-ment supports projects in the field ofclimate and environmental protec-tion in developing and emergingcountries and matches well thedomestic efforts in this field in thePhilippines. In the framework of thisinitiative, the Kreditanstalt für Wie-deraufbau (KfW) provided a CreditLine for Energy Efficiency andClimate Protection (CLEECP) to theLand Bank of the Philippines andthe contracted consortium AFC /ECOFYS / ADG / Berkman led byAFC to provide the relatedconsultancy services.

The general objective of the con-sultancy services is to assist theLand Bank of the Philippines (LBP)and potential clients of the credit lineto identify, plan, evaluate and im-plement investments reducing pri-mary energy consumption andgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In the course of the consultancyassignment the LBP personnel willbe trained in the areas of energyefficiency, climate protection mea-sures and Clean Development Me-chanism (CDM) procedures. Theconsultants' team will assist bankstaff in evaluating investment pro-posals in energy efficient and re-

newable energy technologies. It willalso assist bank clients to identifypotentials for energy efficiency,GHG reduction measures and CDMbenefits. Finally, the consortium willdevelop a marketing concept for thenew financial products of the bank:energy efficiency and renewable

energy loans.

As a result of the very close coope-ration between the consultants andboth bank staff and management,LBP will be able to independentlymanage energy efficient lendingprogrammes with its in-house staffand in cooperation with local energyexperts. The bank staff will be ableto identify energy savings potentialamongst the bank's clients and toattract potential clients for energyefficiency and renewable energyloans. Moreover, LBP will be able tocontinue the training measures rela-ted to energy efficiency lending in-dependently and further increase itsexpertise in this field beyond theproject's duration.


Agnieszka LemanczykProject Manager


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Egypt: Egyptian German Private Sector DevelopmentProgramme (GTZ); Component 2: Resource and EnergyEfficiency in the Food Industry

Most Egyptian enterprises are notcompetitive in the international andpartly also in the national market.They are therefore not able toprovide a sustainable basis for theprotection and expansion of em-ployment. The existing economicand legal framework is characte-

rised by a market that is largelyprotected by import tariffs and ener-gy subsidies, with the result that themajority of Egyptian companies hasan extremely low resource efficien-cy. Due to the lack of economicincentives, the energy consumptionfor the production of standard pro-ducts in Egypt is 20 to 40% abovethe international average. The po-tential for improvements is not usedto the extent necessary and inno-vations are only hesitantly estab-lished in the production process.

Being aware of this situation, theEgyptian government created a firstconceptual framework to increasethe private sector competitivenessby elaborating the “Egyptian Indu-strial Development Strategy” in2006. The centres of technologytransfer established thereafter bythe Ministry of Trade and Industry

the, in many respects, deficientEgyptian system for promotinginnovations. Since the potential forenhancing resource efficiency anddeveloping new products andservices is not used sufficiently, na-tional aid programmes are to coun-teract this situation. For instance,

the Industrial Modernization Centresubsidises energy audits which,however, are rarely translated intoconcrete measures as further tech-nical assistance is lacking. As aresult, the Egyptian economy is notsufficiently competitive due to adeficit in innovations, restricted pro-duct quality and high resource con-sumption.

The Egyptian German Private Sec-tor Development Programme aimsto develop and implement servicesrequired by enterprises, focusing onthe efficiency of resources andenergy as well as on a moresystemic approach for implemen-ting and disseminating innovations.In this context, AFC provides tech-nical assistance to improve the effi-cient use of resources in the foodindustry.

The implementation concept is divi-ded into three complementary parts:(1) supply and implementation ofd e m a n d - o r i e n t e d b u s i n e s sdevelopment services (BDS); (2)support in the supply of informationabout resource efficiency throughpartner organisations and (3) con-tribution to the improvement of theframework requirements. The ob-jective is for selected enterprises ofthe food industry to implement theoffered services for the efficient useof recourses (water, energy andchemicals). Activities centre oneffectively economising resourcesused, the target being to save 30%per unit produced.

Before services are offered to arepresentative number of enter-prises in the food industry, servicesthat have already been imple-mented successfully will be identi-fied and tested on a pilot basis. Inthis regard, services which havebeen developed and implementedby the Efficiency Agency of theFederal State of North Rhine-West-phalia (EFA) in German enterprisesof different sectors seem to be sui-table. In particular, the EFA hasimplemented measures for produc-tion-integrated environmentalprotection (PIUS check) in Germanyto improve production efficiency. Acost minimising production with highresource efficiency and minimisedefforts for disposal protects the en-vironment and strengthens econo-mic competitiveness. With the“PIUS check”, the relevant materialflows and the state of the productiontechnology can be measured andimprovements for enhancing theresource efficiency within produc-tion processes can be identified.

In cooperation with the already iden-tified partner organisations FTC(Food Technology Centre) and CFI(Chamber of Food Industries) theseservices will be presented to thefood industry sector in Egypt, testedand eventually adapted to local cir-cumstances and the requirementsof the participating enterprises. Ex-perts from the partner organisationswill play a major role in all measures

12


to be carried out, from identifying theservices to evaluating the achievedresults and eventually adaptingservices, while at the same timeproviding support towards increa-sing the capacity of service delivery.In parallel, a pool of local experts willbe established, with the EFA imple-menting professional trainingprogrammes and coaching measu-res to build the capacity of localexperts for resource efficiency.

Furthermore, the project supportspartner organisations in the designand implementation of informationand awareness-raising campaignsrelated to environmental protectionand resource efficiency in the foodindustry as well as in the identifica-tion and promotion of financing me-chanisms and models for invest-

ments in adequate improvements.Finally, based on the achievedresults at company level, twoproposals for the improvement offramework conditions related toresource efficiency measures in thefood industry will be elaborated inclose coordination with the partnerorganisations.

The project started in December of2009 and will have a duration of 2.5years. AFC has excellent know-ledge and hands-on experience inthe Egyptian food industry, havingvery successfully implemented aGTZ-funded project in Egypt relatedto fruit and vegetable processingfrom 2006 to 2009. The currentendeavour will significantly benefitfrom the lessons learnt and theexisting relations with relevantstakeholders.


Matthias WebendörferProject Manager




Institutional DevelopmentCross CuttingCompetences 13





AFC supports the quality improvementof Moroccan agro-alimentary products

At the beginning of 2009, theMinistry of Agriculture and Fisheryof Morocco, in collaboration with theDeutsche Gesellschaft für Tech-nische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ),launched the project “Quality impro-vements of agro-al imentaryproducts (AQPA)”. This project, im-plemented by DLG Agriservice andAFC Consultants InternationalGmbH, aims at making the agro-alimentary sector more competitiveon both internal and external mar-kets through improving product qua-lity.

The food processing industry is oneof the main industries in Morocco.Its objective is to feed a growingpopulation and to participate in thecountry's export activities. Theindustry's major export market isEurope, which is increasingly exi-gent when it comes to product

quality. Also, Moroccan consumersare becoming more and moredemanding in respect of hygieneand quality for products sold on thenational market.

The AQPA project implemented awide range of tools to support thedevelopment of the agro-alimentarysector. During a first piloting phaseof 3 years the project identified

solutions for the harmonious andconcerted development of quality inthree sub-sectors (olives, cannedfruit and tomato paste). During thisperiod the problems related toprocessed vegetables were syste-matically evaluated and quality ma-nagement tools develo-ped, suchas the reference quality manage-ment guide PIAQ (Programme ofintegrated quality management).

The encouraging results yielded bythe introduction of these qualitymanagement tools in a pilot group ofenterprises convinced the regu-lating authorities to implement ne-cessary modifications, in particularthe official recognition of the PIAQas a founding document for a newquality management concept – bothon the private sector and govern-ment level.

The AQPA project contributed to-wards adapting the legal frame-work for the quality control of foodproducts and to the elaboration ofproduct standards. In the frameworkof the project a law concerning thesanitary security of food was workedout which came into force in 2008.The consumer protection associ-ations (AdC) were provided withpractical tools for structuring their

internal organisation. In this way,consumer protection in Moroccowas significantly reinforced. Today,the AdC are accredited actors andparticipate in the decision-makingprocess of national and regionalauthorities. Furthermore, AdCcreated and implemented consu-mer protection service desks toassist consumers looking forsupport in defending their rights.

Under theAQPAproject a number ofinnovations and modifications in theagro-alimentary sector were initi-ated. For example, a normative andlegal data base was established inbusiness associations and astandardised production contractwhich links agricultural and proces-sing operators was developed.These initiatives allowed theassociations to reinforce their role inthe development of the agro-alimentary sector. The initial resultsof the introduced modifications con-firmed the need for the standar-disation of a new approach insecuring product quality at the natio-nal level.

The AQPA project certainly bene-fited from the favourable economicsituation created by the free tradeagreements between Morocco andother countries or groups of coun-tries. It also benefited from thegrowing requirements of marketsand civil society. But its achieve-ments are primarily the result of afruitful cooperation between diffe-rent partner organisations repre-senting civil society, the privatesector and the state administration.


Dr Ute JacobRegional Director Africa


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News from colleagues

New colleague in the financialsector development teamSimona Helmsmüller joined AFC inApril 2010 for a three-month intern-ship after which she was offered awork contract. Ms Helmsmüller willsupport AFC's department forfinancial sector development, assistin project acquisition and projectmanagement.

Ms Helmsmüller has recentlyreturned from Dhaka, Bangladesh,where she completed an internshipat Grameen Bank (GB), the winnerof the 2006 Nobel Prize forPeace.Atthe bank, Ms Helmsmüller had thechance to learn in depth about thephilosophy, systems and proce-dures of the Grameen methodologyof microfinance. During various fieldtrips to Bangladeshi villages, sheconducted interviews with borro-wers, participated at centre mee-tings and observed the daily work ofbranch staff. She has therefore ex-perienced first hand that microfinan-ce offers an unequalled opportunityto reduce poverty and foster socialchange through a market-based,sustainable approach. At the headoffice in Dhaka, she worked on va-rious build-operate-transfer (BOT)

projects at the Grameen Trust.Grameen Trust, an independentcompany under the Grameenumbrella, is responsible for thepromotion of microcredits and theimplementation and adaptation ofGB type programmes worldwide.Ms Helmsmüller helped with thewriting of annual reports andnewsletter articles as well as withthe controlling of the monthlybalance sheets from BOT projectsin Zambia, Kosovo and China. Thisallowed her to gained a first insightinto the country specific opportu-nities and challenges of micro-finance. Furthermore, she substan-tially contributed to a feasibilitystudy aimed at analysing the de-mand for microfinance in Scotlandand in this task closely collaboratedwith the Glasgow CalledonianUniversity.

Before her in ternsh ip wi thGrameen, Ms Helmsmüller workedas a student research assistant atthe German Research Centre forArtificial Intelligence in Saarbrückenand as a volunteer/teacher for

mathematics and English at anIndian Primary and High School inBanga lo re . She ho lds theequivalent of a Master's degree inMathematics with a focus on statis-tics and insurance mathematics,wh ich she comp le ted w i thoutstanding results. She is currentlypursuing a second degree in Econo-mics, in which she specialises oneconomic policy and developmenteconomics.

Simona Helmsmüller


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Hans Otto

Managing DirectorTel.: +49(0)228-98 [email protected]

Johannes Buschmeier

Managing Director- Director Europe and Asia -Tel.: +49(0)228-98 [email protected]

Jochen Ressmann

ppa.Regional Director - Africa / Latin America

Tel.:+49(0)228-98 579-44

[email protected]

AFC-Management

AFC Newsletterfor Partners and Colleagues







AFC Newsletter 2010for Partners and Colleagues

AFC Consultants International GmbHDottendorfer Strasse 82

D-53129 BonnTel.: +49(0)228-985 79-0

Fax: +49(0)228-985 79-79email: [email protected]

web: www.afci.de

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