Mr. Gibson has been
a pioneer in the field of risk capital for small and
medium enterprises in developing countries. From 1989
through 1999, Mr. Gibson was founding President, then
Chairman of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds and
chaired a number of SEAF's funds. Mr. Gibson is currently
president of the Institute for SME Finance, a group
of financial and legal professionals who promote the
greater availability and more effective use of risk
capital for SMEs in developing and transitional economies.
Since its founding in mid-2000, the Institute has
provided training to more than 300 practitioners in
risk capital finance in developing countries and advisory
services to a wide range of organizations and governments
in the development of SME risk capital funds. Through
his work in some 40 countries, he has held in-depth
interviews with more than 500 SMEs and some 50 SME
equity funds on five continents.