The promotion of Small and Medium Sized enterprises implies a
recognition that places SMEs in the context of economic and private
sector development. Governments in most countries support SMEs by
recognizing that their contribution to economic growth, employment
and innovation is critical. However, far too often SMEs have been
promoted and supported by providing subsidized tools, such as
credits and Business Development Services (BDS) which leads to
preferential and artificial treatment that does not prepare these
SMEs for the real (market) economy. The wider perspective calls for
abandonment of this ‘insular approach’ and for governments to
promote competitiveness among all business sectors, allowing SMEs
to participate in the economy on a ‘level playing field’ and to
take advantage of entrepreneurship and ability to innovate and
grow.
In order to promote SME under a wider perspective of private sector
development, we provide services in the following areas:
- Establishing and promoting Business Innovation Centres/Business
Development Services (BIC/BDS)
- Training and networking BIC/BDS, locally and
internationally
- Improving access to public and private sources of financing,
including foreign sources
- Establishing market links and marketing information
- Training and developing management and financial skills
- Preparing business and strategic plans
- Improving (foreign) market access and promoting exports,
including customer and partner searches
- Assessing and designing regional cooperation agreements
- Assessing and recommending satisfactory legal and regulatory
frameworks for SME operations
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