Regional Meeting to discuss 2nd phase of Business Diagnostic Toolkits Project
PRESS STATEMENT (95/08)
4th September 2008 SECOND PHASE OF BUSINESS DIAGNOSTIC TOOLKITS PROJECT KICKS OFF WITH REGIONAL MEETING The 2nd phase of the Business Diagnostic Toolkits Project is to start with a Regional Business Diagnostic Toolkits Meeting, to be held in Nadi, Fiji, 8-12 September 2008. “The growth of the small to medium enterprises (SME’s) is seen as a fundamental component of economic development. However the failure rate of SME’s in the Pacific remains unacceptably high and most SME’s fail to grow beyond a subsistence level. Governments in the Pacific have recognized this and are putting in place organizations to help these businesses and to stimulate the growth of the SME sector itself,” says Feleti Teo, Acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. “To assist the member governments, the University of the South Pacific Graduate School of Business, the Pacific Regional Economic Integration Programme (PACREIP), the Private Sector Development Unit at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat embarked on a project, which involved the training of business advisory agencies in the member countries on a Business Diagnostic Toolkit, says Mr Teo. The toolkit enabled the business advisory agencies to assess the performance of businesses in their respective countries, and identify the areas that are preventing them from growing. Having completed the Business Diagnostic Toolkits Training in all the 14 Forum Island Countries (FICs), the Regional Business Diagnostic Toolkits Meeting will engage the ‘lead-trainers from the FICs along with appropriate government officials from the Ministries responsible for Private Sector Development to finalise the report on the Business Capability Profile of Businesses in the FICs, (which is based on the business assessments that were conducted throughout the region and focuses on the development issues currently facing SMEs in the Region); Development of Country-specific Action Plans and implementation schedules; and Development of Project Proposals based on the country specific Action Plans. The Business Capability Profile will be a first of its kind ever done for the region, and will be a very useful document for Governments and development partners as it will provide analytical data on the SMEs never before gathered. The report and recommendations provided will ensure that assistance for the private sector is targeted most appropriately. ENDS. For more information, contact Ms Alise Stunnenberg, the Forum’s Private Sector Development Officer on phone 679 331 2600 or email: alises@forumsec.org.fj |
2008