Through initiatives for economic diversification, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) are focusing on SMEs and agriculture.

The two institutions will focus on the deployment of transformational technological and digital solutions in trade and commerce, public services, financial intermediation and inclusion. This information was announced, during discussions during the 22nd William G. Demas Memorial Lecture, held on the sidelines of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the BDC, on June 16, in Turks and Caicos.

We need to encourage our youth to realize that agriculture is not just subsistence farming," said the head of the African Development Bank. "It is a real business, and we should increasingly train what I like to call 'agripreneurs,'" noted AfDB Group President Akinwumi Adesina in his speech titled "Development in the Context of Global Challenges: Experiences and Lessons from the African Development Bank."

On June 14, the two multilateral development institutions endorsed their collaboration with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Providenciales. They ratified the MoU on behalf of their institutions, which will work closely together in many areas, including the sustainable development of micro, small and medium enterprises.