The Asian Development Bank has partnered with Deutsche Bank to fund operations of small and medium enterprises or SMEs, especially those in the pharmaceutical and agriculture industries.

The two banks signed an agreement to utilize ADB's Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program and Deutsche Bank's funds from revenues of its global network of large corporate clients to boost working capital for SMEs.

"Partnering with Deutsche Bank will allow companies, particularly SMEs, to access the global supply chain which can spur economic growth and contribute to job creation," ADB's Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury said in a statement last Tuesday.

"Together, we will help smaller companies achieve growth through better access to supply chain financing. We believe this is important, as we are seeing increasing demand for this in the trade sector," Deutsche Bank Head of Trade Finance and Lending for Asia Pacific Matthew Moodey said.

The ADB said businesses demand around $2.5 trillion to sustain operations, but SMEs remain the least supported.

With its partnership with Deutsche Bank, ADB said SMEs can boost trade in Asia and the Pacific, generating additional revenues amounting to over $200 million.

The bank added pharmaceutical and agriculture products and services will be high in demand as the world population expands and countries prevent another pandemic and fight climate change.