Workshop seeks to enhance business mgt among SMEs in Pacific

A WEEK-LONG workshop on developing business management capacity building among Asia-Pacific’s small-to-medium enterprises is currently underway in Madang.
The training workshop is being attended by at least 18 delegates from the Asia-Pacific region.
The Madang workshop is being attended by 10 Papua New Guineans, two Fijians, four Tongians and two Vietnamese from SMEs in the region. 
It will close tomorrow.
It is the first of its kind in the Pacific region although there are six of such training programmes for the African and the South-East Asian nations which are normally held in India and backed by the Indian government.
Prof Hemnath Rao, director for the Centre for Poverty Studies and Rural Development from the ASCI, said the workshop was the first to be held off campus aimed at enhancing SMEs of member-countries.
He said he was proud to have been associated with the DWU staff as they have the local knowledge.
He added future arrangement could be made with the university to facilitate the programme.
Commonwealth Secretariat economic adviser David Ashiagbor said the secretariat was focused on assisting, promoting and supporting private sector development as a way of reducing poverty and increasing economic growth of member countries.
Prof Rao said the secretariat has been supporting the SME partnership and other regional conferences.
He said 95% of the businesses in the world are small-scale but with significant impact on GDP by generating jobs, reducing poverty, improving living condition and promoting business globally.
The capacity building programme has been funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Centre for the Development of Enterprise and Aureous Capital.
It is being facilitated by administrative staff of both College of India (ASCI) and the business studies department of DWU.