Private
sector and economic studies
Bert has been involved in various
economic studies, mainly related to private
sector development and industrial policy, SME development and structural adjustment.
Private Sector
Development and Industrial Policy
In Malaysia,
Bert was as UNDP / UNIDO programme officer involved in various private sector
development studies. He was particularly involved in the follow-up of the
Industrial Master Plan, updating input-output models, industrial incentive
systems, development of semi-conductor industry, a study for development of the
rubber sector, and several projects for establishing industrial parks and
technology centres, as well as direct support services. He also wrote the
private sector development paragraph for the new five year
programme of UNDP (Nov 1989 to Nov 1991).
In Guinea-Bissau,
Bert was - working in the Ministry of Industry - called upon to offer advice at
policy level to the Minister on privatisation, industrial policy and investment
incentives. He also contributed to the preparation of United Nations private
sector development programme (Jan 1992 to Jan 1995).
In Moldova,
Bert took part in a Grains Policy Study for the FAO, developing policy
instruments to stimulate lending to the farm sector (Nov / Dec 1997).
In the Netherlands,
when working at the ABN-Amro Bank, Bert conducted economic research to prepare
the bank's and clients' investment decisions (1987 to
1989).
In Kazakhstan,
Bert advised the Ministry of Agriculture on setting up financing instruments
for the agricultural sector, in particular credit guarantees and leasing. This
aimed to be an alternative to the (unsustainable) directed lending used before
(Nov 1999).
In the Netherlands,
he conducted an evaluation for the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the
'Programme Economic Cooperation Projects' - a programme aiming to position
Dutch exporters of capital goods and related services on Emerging Markets (Jun
- Nov 2004).
Bert also
conducted a comparative study of Innovations in Agricultural Finance in Cambodia, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, Thailand and Tunisia (Mar
- Aug 2011, published in 2012)
In the Netherlands,
Bert undertook several desk studies, such as deskstudy
'Best Practices in Europe in SME development' and deskstudy
on 'Lessons Learned' by Dutch organisations in SME development (1995/96).
Through SME evaluation projects in Tunisia and Ghana, Bert contributed to SME policy development
(1995/96).
In Malaysia,
through his work for UNIDO, Bert contributed to several SME development
policies. Among others, he wrote the basis for the new UNDP five-year
development assistance programme, including the private sector development
paragraph (Nov 1989 to Nov 1991).
In Guinea-Bissau,
Bert - working in the Ministry of Industry - was called upon to offer advice at
policy level to the Minister on several issues of SME development, among others
the development of SME financing instruments (Jan 1992 to Jan 1995).
Bert published several papers on
SME development, such as 'Financial and non-Financial services for SMEs' and
'Success Factors for SME lending' (both presented at a private sector
development seminar in Serbia, 1999) and
'Post-Privatisation Restructuring' (presented during a conference in Mongolia in 2001, and subsequently published in
2002).
In Guinea-Bissau,
Bert executed a research 'Study Structural Adjustment Programme for
Guinea-Bissau' which resulted in a publication of the
same name (1994 and 1996).
In Zambia,
Bert studied the Zambian economy during its IMF-led structural adjustment
programme (1986), which led to a publication 'Zambia and the IMF' (1986/87).
See list of
publications and research
Other services:
Turnaround, Business Support, Credit Appraisal, Banking, Institutional,
Training, Project Cycle.