Georgetown, GINA, April 04, 2008

The importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the economic development of a country, especially in terms of job creation, was underscored today at the launching of the Pan-Caribbean SME-ICT Competitiveness Development Guyana Programme.
The SME has set a strategy for Guyana that is in line with the new economic development plans of the Government.
At the activity held at the Cara Lodge, Ram Venuprasad, Advisor (Enterprise Development) for the Commonwealth Secretariat said that, the focus is on creating opportunities for SMEs. He said the Secretariat is happy to be working with the Ministries of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, which are the two ministries identified for that purpose.
Further, he noted that the Commonwealth Secretariat is committed to working with the State. “I would like to reiterate to the government, that we are here not just to present a report but to also to logically follow that up with implementation,” he said.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, noted that SMEs account for an estimated 95 percent of the world’s businesses.
“SMEs contribute significantly to the economic development of a country especially in terms of job creation. They are perceived as the economic force of nations and as such must be able to provide high quality products and service to access regional and international markets,” he said.
Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, Henry Jeffrey, also stressed the significant role that SMEs play. “We need further contextualization and perhaps sub categories, and try to focus on them, there are small businesses out there with people who are really trying to help themselves, and we need to figure out what it is that we can do to help them, we need a road map that deals with all the constraints,” Minister Jeffrey said.
In Guyana, small businesses represent approximately three-quarters of the total business activities which make a substantial contribution to the country’s economy by generating employment and income.
“To be competitive, our businesses must be able to respond to more demanding markets. It therefore, means that the small and medium enterprises in Guyana need to be efficient, innovative and proactive in their business practices,” Minister Prashad asserted.
He further noted that the implementation of standards or a quality management system is one of the key solutions which will help to streamline the sector which he acknowledge has challenges.
Minister Prashad said Government welcomes the initiative of the Commonwealth Secretariat and will continue to lobby for financial support for the successful implementation of this strategy.
The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development project which is in its phase two stage, was the result of requests for technical assistance by Barbados, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The three countries were grouped into a single regional project due to similarities in their requests and for effectiveness in programme delivery.
The objectives of the project includes developing effective strategies for the three client countries in the area of SME development, which may subsequently be integrated into each country’s economic development/SME policy/activities; and providing assistance through training in facilitating the SME sub-sectors to work together, including making use of appropriate Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) applications.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation will act as the facilitator of the project while the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce will be implementing agency for strategies outlined.