BIIA associate member Creditreform reports the creation of an independent institute for research and learning at the BiTS Unternehmer-Hochschule (College for Business Management), Iserlohn, Germany, in conjunction with Professor Dr. Reichmann. The objectives of the ‘Institute für Mittelstandsfinanzierung – Creditreform . Prof. Dr. Reichmann’ are three fold: To assist the faculty of the BiTS College, to initiate research concerning financial issues of SMEs and to provide basic know-how as well as latest the state of the art financial practices to the management of SMEs. The SME term ‘Mittelstand’ has a special connotation in Germany: It exemplifies privately owned medium and small businesses, with a technical and entrepreneurial bent that form the core of the German economy. These firms usually have a low capital base and many rely heavily on bank financing. Basel II has cut off many of the ‘Mittelstand’ firms from traditional bank financing, hence the need to seek alternative financing methods and to prepare entrepreneurs for a tougher financing climate. Research and Learning are strategic elements of business development; therefore the side benefits of this process will be entrepreneurs with an astute knowledge of how to manage their finances and the use of information in financial decision processes. Source: www.creditreform.de
BIIA Newsletter September – 2006 Issue
