(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) If Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) are to be fully developed, countries must put in place the Legal and Policy Framework to ensure that the full potential of the sector is realised.
This view was expressed by the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of Guyana, the Honourable Manniram Prashad in delivering the feature address at the opening session of the “Second Roundtable on the Strategic Plan and Coordination Mechanisms for Small and Medium Enterprise” at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat on Tuesday 24 October.
The Minister said without the correct legal and policy framework not much could be done to push SMEs forward to enable the sector to develop to the point where it could compete in the global economy.
Pointing to his own country, which the Minister informed passed the Small Business Act in 2004, he stressed that the requisite legal framework was necessary for the operation of SMEs, as “regulations for big business should not be applied to SMEs”.
“…without the Legal and Policy Framework not much can be accomplished in moving the SME sector forward. The above named framework must first be put in place. With the required framework established, it is incumbent on us also, to listen to the concern of the SMEs, identify the obstacles they face and provide them with the required tools for them to grow, develop and to compete in an increasing global economy,” the Minister stressed.
‘It is critical in your deliberations, in the finalisation of a strategic plan for SMEs, to consider the design of appropriate regulations and procedures. Consideration must first be given to what impact present regulation and procedures are having on the growth of small businesses, with a view to making necessary changes if need be. Regulations must facilitate the activities of SMEs, rather than hinder them. The regulations and procedures used to register large business should not apply to SMEs”, he added.
The Minister also noted that a Legal Framework should be sound and supported by good policy that is properly administered.
On the issue of finance, the Minister stressed that the lack of collateral continued to be a major challenge for SMEs to access finance from commercial banks. To this end, he emphasised that the nature of the SME sector dictated alternate financing such as micro credit and loan guarantee schemes. In this regard, he remarked that in the case of Guyana, the micro credit facility offered by the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) was instrumental in the development of its SMEs.
The two day Roundtable is a follow-up from the one previously held in Jamaica, and is held at this time to capture the momentum of the surge of business activity since the declaration of the Region being Single Market ready in January this year.
At the Roundtable, participants will be guided through the process of identifying key elements and outcomes of the strategic planning process by Ms Norma Shorey-Bryan of Catalyst Consultants, a leading Caribbean consultancy.
