geo/germany

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Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Frankfurt School), a leading private business school based in Germany, joins the SME Finance Forum 

Frankfurt Affiliate

Washington D.C, July 23rd, 2025 – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Frankfurt School), a leading private business school based in Germany, has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 300+ members/affiliates of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation. 

 “SME Finance Forum proudly welcomes one of the leading German private business schools. It is with great pleasure that I welcome Frankfurt School of Finance & Management to the SME Finance Forum as a valuable partner in promoting financial inclusion and green finance,” said Qamar Saleem, Head of SME Finance Forum. 

Frankfurt School is a leading private business school based in Germany with over 65 years of experience in education and qualification, and more than 30 years in consulting and capacity building in all areas related to banking, finance, and management globally. 

“Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is thrilled to join the SME Finance Forum. Our commitment to delivering the highest quality education and advisory services, leveraging market intelligence, and fostering strong relationships aligns perfectly with the Forum's mission. This partnership will enhance our ability to provide tailored solutions and innovative approaches to financial inclusion and sustainable development,” said Fatma Dirkes, Vice President, Executive & Professional Education, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. 

 
SME Finance Forum: Innovation & Partnership for MSMEs Growth   

The SME Finance Forum, backed by the G20 and IFC/World Bank, is the leading global network of 300+ members/affiliates operating in 190 countries. Network comprises of SME focused institutions providing and enabling finance and services- banks, non-bank financial institutions, fintech, payment platforms, development institutions, credit guarantee companies, insurers, investment funds, supply chain-linked players, banking and SME associations, policy advocates, regulators, academia, consulting houses, and knowledge aggregators. 

Our members, affiliates, and associated stakeholders benefit from learning/replicating best practices from across the world, innovating new products for business growth, acquiring risk mitigation tools, establishing partnerships, attracting investors, and being recognized amongst a peer group of global innovators. Our products consist of “members only” solutions (like innovation hubs, solutions clinics, peer group networks, study tours, specialized tools and training, member portal repository, partnered initiatives) as well as public good services (200+ publications library, 500+ videos, webinars, newsletters, training, annual awards, annual event etc.) 

Discover the SME Finance Forum members/affiliates:  
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list 
https://smefinanceforum.org/about/partners 

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Frankfurt School) 

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (Frankfurt School) is a leading private business school and advisory institute based in Germany with over 65 years of experience in education and qualification and more than 30 years in consulting and capacity building in all areas related to banking, finance, and management globally.  

Frankfurt School enjoys an excellent reputation both in Germany and worldwide, consistently achieving top positions in national and international university rankings. It is one of only three business schools in Germany accredited with the prestigious "Triple Crown Accreditation," holding the EQUIS, AACSB International, and AMBA seals of quality.  

A key area of focus is advising companies and organizations, particularly in emerging markets and sustainable finance. In addition to its main campus in Frankfurt, the school operates study locations in Hamburg and Munich, as well as offices in Ankara, Amman,  and Nairobi. With a network of over 125 partner universities, Frankfurt School is a globally connected institution.  

The collaboration between academics and practitioners at Frankfurt School fosters unique synergies, merging international best practices with cutting-edge research. This partnership with local entities ensures effective project implementation, resulting in innovative, context-specific solutions. 

Frankfurt School's Executive & Professional Education programs provide participants with advanced knowledge and help them expand their expertise in new areas. The programs are designed to improve participants' technical and leadership skills, which are critical to driving their company's success in today's competitive landscape. From certified programs to customized courses, Frankfurt School offers practice-oriented learning tailored to the changing needs of the finance and management sectors.  

The programs taught are provided in various languages and formats, including fully online, blended, and classroom-only. 

Learn more:  

Website: http://www.frankfurt-school.de  

Facebook: facebook.com/ FrankfurtSchool  

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/frankfurtschool  

Youtube: FrankfurtSchoolLive  

Instagram: frankfurtschool  

Bitbond Collaborates with German Bank to Issue Euro Stablecoin (EURB) on Stellar

We are happy to share that our member Bitbond, Germany’s leading tokenization and digital asset custody technology provider, and Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH), one of Europe’s oldest banks, have joined forces to issue a Euro (EUR) stablecoin (EURB) on the Stellar network. The EURB stablecoin is the first stablecoin issued directly by a banking institution on Stellar and one of the first of its kind in the crypto market. 
 
BVDH has primarily focused on serving institutional clients in securitization-related transactions since 1754. After exploring ways to make their securitization business more efficient, Bitbond’s white label tokenization technology emerged as the best way to do so. Stellar Development Foundation, the nonprofit organization supporting the development and growth of Stellar, facilitated the development of EURB and consulted with both Bitbond and BVDH regarding its technical integration.  
 
EURB can be leveraged by BVDH’s customers as well as third party developers of financial applications to settle digital asset transfers on-chain. With the asset now live on Stellar, Bitbond will integrate it into the platform it built for BVDH to use the stablecoin for securitization which includes mechanisms for burning and minting the token. For the Stellar ecosystem, this adds a new on/off-ramp for EUR on the network. Any user or business looking to connect to EUR through Stellar rails can now do so. 
 
 
Bitbond provides bank-grade blockchain technology to financial institutions. The white-label software improves the issuance, settlement and custody of securities and other financial instruments. The offered modules consist of digital asset custody, asset tokenization and on-chain payments. Bitbond was founded in 2013 in Berlin Germanyand has implemented software for regulated clients all around Europe and in Asia. 
 

Mambu

Mambu is a SaaS cloud banking platform. Their marketplace ecosystem includes integrations across credit decisioning, payment processing, AML, KYC, regulatory, CRM, accounting, customer experience and more.

Country / Region
Member Since
Organization Type
Location
52.5200066, 13.404954
City/Town location
berlin

C2FO

Leading fintech operating in the field of supply chain, especially focused on SMEs. C2FO operates globally.

Country / Region
Member Since
Organization Type
Location
39.011902, -98.4842465
City/Town location
Kansas

Opportunity International Network

Global non-profit committed to ending extreme poverty and promoting quality education for families. They provide financial resources, training and support to start small businesses and earn living wages.

Country / Region
Member Since
Organization Type
Location
43.4642578, -80.5204096
City/Town location
Waterloo, ON, Canada

Paypal

Paypal’s open digital payments platform gives its more than over 270 million active account holders. better ways to manage and move money and offers flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid.

Country / Region
Member Since
Organization Type
Location
37.33874, -121.8852525
City/Town location
San Jose, CA, USA
PipeDrive organization Id
234
Operation countries

American Express

Global services company that provides a suite of payment and lending products, solutions for travel and everyday business spending, cross border payments, global currency solutions, and business financing.

Country / Region
Member Since
Organization Type
Location
40.7127753, -74.0059728
City/Town location
NYC, NY, USA
PipeDrive organization Id
647

Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)

The Council of Europe Development Bank is an international financial institution with a social mandate. It finances public entities as well as MSMEs (via on lending through financial institutions).

Country / Region
Member Since
Location
48.856614, 2.3522219
City/Town location
Paris, France
PipeDrive organization Id
589