SMEs aim global markets
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises SME value chain must be upgraded
to penetrate into global and regional markets as this sector has high
potential for growth and to alleviate negative environmental effects
through public-private partnership.
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Prof. Rahula Attalage, Dr Ravi
Ratnayake, Prof. Ananda Jayawardena, Dr Mohomed Lamine (UNIDO)
at the headtable. Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa |
Trade and Investment Director, United Nations (Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Dr Ravi Ratnayake said. He
was speaking at the two day Sub-regional workshop on SMEs’ Value Chain
Development at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel yesterday.
Value
Chain Development
* Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka share their sectoral development plans to promote SMEs’
*Proposed national
strategies should be incorporated in their industrial policy
framework.
* The national action plan
will include implementation strategies, agencies responsible
and costing. |
He said it is important to strengthen sub-regional trade and economic
cooperation among Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka to maximize their
export potentials.
If the three countries promote trade activities in integrated way
rather than doing it in isolation they would learn from each other
sharing experience and it is also easy to mobilize funding.
For upgrading SME value chains, the three countries in cooperation
with ESCAP focused on key products with high export potential, such as
industrial rubber, electronic goods, plastic products and commercial
crops (ginger and coffee) Dr Ratnayake highlighted the importance of
selected product sectors for their contributions to national economies
in terms of employment, backward linkages and export.
The participating countries need to make sure that proposed national
strategies for short, medium and long, term growth of selected sectors
should be incorporated in their industrial policy frameworks along with
appropriate incentives and support functions.
The SMEs’ in developing Asia should be able to make up over 80-90
percent of all enterprises, provide over 60 percent of the private
sector jobs, generate 30-40 percent of total employment, contribute
about 50 percent of sales or value added and share about 30 percent of
direct total exports, he said.
The key success factors of SME development include policy and
regulatory frameworks, supporting infrastructure, human resources
development, access to finance, technology enhancement and business
development services. The national action plans will also include
implementation strategies, agencies responsible and costing.
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