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In mid-September, AFC organized a study tour to Germany, Luxembourg, and Brussels, for a delegation from the Bank of Laos (BOL). BOL is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Lao Access to Finance Fund (LAFF) for which we are providing capacity building measures, as part of our KfW project in Lao PDR.
We filled our 10-day study tour with meetings and learning opportunities for the delegation members who represent various departments within the Central Bank. Our goal was to support the LAFF Management Unit in understanding best practices in the management and operations of funds with a similar setup to LAFF. Furthermore, we wanted to provide the delegation the chance to learn about potential expansion opportunities, especially in green financing, and finally network and meet other organizations and development finance institutions to gauge interest for collaboration and funding opportunities.
The study tour started in Frankfurt at KfW’s offices, where the delegation met with the Portfolio Manager of the East and Southeast Asia Department, Mr. Jann Bode who presented KfW and its activities and explained the various programs they are undertaking in Germany and abroad.
The delegation members also got the opportunity to meet virtually with Ms. Gayane Khachatryan, Director of the German Armenian Fund, to learn more about fund management strategy and best practices in governance, operations, monitoring, and evaluation.
The delegation also met with Mr. Thorston Minor, Senior Risk Management Expert at KfW, who explained the risk management strategy of the bank and the various instruments they use to hedge their investments against all types of risks.
The next stop was the AFC head office in Bonn, where the delegation was welcomed by the CEO Mr. Johannes Buschmeier. Mr. Buschmeier introduced in more detail AFC’s activities worldwide and our most recent projects. Senior Project Manager Mr. Jakob Lutz explained the services and activities of the Financial Sector Development Department, while Dr. Oliver Schmidt, Senior Consultant at AFC provided a presentation about a recent project undertaken in the field of green biodiversity financing.
On the 5th day of the tour, we moved on to Luxembourg, where the delegation met with EIB’s Head of the Division Public Sector Operations in Asia and Pacific, Mr. Edvardas Bumsteinas, who presented EIB's global activities including in Laos. Mr. Marcin Wolski, Economist at EIB provided valuable input on the bank’s risk rating methodology.
The delegation also had the chance to have fruitful meetings with the NGO ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, during which they discussed potential collaboration opportunities in the field of microfinance and financial inclusion.
Finally, in Brussels, the delegation met with Mr. Mario Ronconi, the Head of the Unit for South and Southeast Asia from the European Commission, Directorate of International Partnerships (DG INTPA). Mr. Ronconi presented the European Commission with its various financing instruments and ongoing activities in Laos.
Commenting on the visit, Mr. Bouachanh Keomany, Deputy Director General of the Financial Institution Supervision Department at BOL and LAFF Steering Committee member said: “We are very thankful to AFC for organizing the study tour. This tour helped us understand best practices to better manage the Laos Access to Finance Fund (LAFF). We appreciate the opportunity to meet various organizations throughout the tour where we learned more about their operations and explored potential collaboration with LAFF and BOL in general. The excellent organization by AFC helped us achieve our objectives and come back to Laos with a wealth of information and knowledge we can put to use, to expand and grow the LAFF”.
Ms. Khamla Heuanemanivong, Deputy Director General of the Commercial Bank Supervision Department of BOL and LAFF Steering Committee member was very satisfied with the tour outcomes as well and commented the following: “AFC has been an important partner for BOL and the LAFF team. This study tour concludes 6 years of successful capacity building and knowledge exchange between AFC and the LAFF operations team. Now LAFF is considered a reference for a successful project implementation by public officials in Laos as well as International funding organizations. This would have not been possible without the diligence of AFC consultants and experts. We are grateful for this partnership and looking forward to continue working with AFC in the future”.
Mrs. Phaythoun Kingkeo, Deputy Director General of the Banking Operations Department at BOL was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to get to know more her colleagues through this study tour. She commented: “This study tour was beneficial to us on so many levels as staff members of Bank of Laos PDR. We did not only learn about experiences from other funds around the world, but we also got new innovative ideas on how to allow LAFF to better address the growing and changing needs of MSMEs in Laos. AFC helped us meet a network of organizations that can provide potentially valuable support to LAFF in terms of technical assistance as well as grants and other financial support. We thank AFC for their above-and-beyond support to LAFF. We have great memories as a group from this study tour and I believe this was a great opportunity for team building and strengthening further the capacities of the LAFF management unit and its steering committee”.
Of course, we also scheduled for some time for sightseeing and discovering Europe’s landmark attractions such as the Atomium in Brussels. Commenting on the program, Ms. Sansany Phermmasarnsack, Deputy Head of Credit Division of the Banking Operations Department at BOL and LAFF Management Unit Secretariat said: “This study tour was a great cultural and learning experience for us. We appreciate AFC for taking time to develop a rich program that was full of meetings, networking, and knowledge exchange but also we had great time discovering European traditions, food, and culture”.
While the Technical Assistance project for LAFF came to an end, AFC is confident that the activities implemented throughout the project lifetime including the study tour, equipped the management team of LAFF with the right skills and knowledge to be able to sustain this structure independently and support its growth in the future.
For further information contact jakob.lutz [at] afci.de or celine.serhal [at] afci.de