Govt’s implementing agencies vital to SME

THE Government’s economic sector implementing agencies are important in the development of small to medium enterprises in Papua New Guinea, the acting managing director of the SME Corporation Steven Maken says.
Maken, pictured, told the Consultative Implementations and Monitoring Council development forum in Port Moresby that plans and policies of economic sector agencies in relation to SME development shall be aligned with the SME Policy 2016 and SME Master Plan 2016-2030.
“Enabling legal and regulatory framework provides the fundamentals for all private sector development and favourable conditions to form the foundation for SME growth, survival and competitiveness,” Maken said.
“The SME Corporation will only play a facilitative and coordinating role.
“It was never intended to be the sole player.”
He said SME-related support programmes from donor agencies should be coordinated and implemented according to priority programmes as identified in the SME Master Plan.
“The Government shall encourage development partners to initiate discussions with public and private stakeholders on lessons learned in SME support including opportunities for up-scaling and for pursuing good practices in support service delivery,” Maken said.