Smec signs agreement to help incubator hub in Lae

BUILDING partnerships is the key strategy and a way forward for the Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation (Smec) to be more involved with the business sector.
Smec recently achieved one of its strategic goals by signing a memorandum of understanding and presented a multi-purpose printer to mark its partnership with Lae’s Tok Stret Consulting Limited at their Lae SME Incubator hub.
Smec managing director Petrus Ralda said the MoU that was signed is significant because TSCL is doing an impactful project and partnering with them creates and builds their capacity to implement.
“On our part as the agency responsible for SME development in the country, we are implementing the 2016 SME policy and SME master plan 2016-2030,” Ralda said.
From the past years, it was realised that the majority of the economically active population are business illiterate in the rural areas and there was not much partnership.
Ralda said after his appointment the board re-evaluated the entire SME policy implementation process and changed it where many partnerships were established compared to the past.
“We decided to go down, work with districts and ward councillors and start where the people are by building an entrepreneurship culture through the strategy of partnership networking alignment,” he said.
He said the important thing was to partner with existing projects by building capacity and support so they could help SME start-ups through this programme in Morobe.
With the capacity provided, Tok Stret Consulting Ltd will be able to support other SMEs.