Commonwealth assistance to boost the competitiveness of Samoa’s MSMEs

“Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are vital for the socio-economic development of Samoa”, said Misa Telefoni Retzlaff, Acting Prime Minister of Samoa, when he launched the Commonwealth Secretariat technical assistance project in Apia, Samoa, last week.

He added: “As part of fostering inclusive growth, as envisaged under the four year Strategy for the Development of Samoa, MSMEs play a critical role in promoting the private sector of our economy.”

For MSMEs struggling to overcome the many hurdles associated with running their business operations and keeping it afloat, help is at hand. The Commonwealth Secretariat’s project is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Samoa’s MSMEs through a set of targeted interventions.

This project will develop an enabling environment for the country’s MSMEs through a National Policy and Strategy for the sector. The policy and strategy will have special emphasis on developing women and youth owned enterprises, besides addressing other critical issues for MSME development such as access to finance, including opportunities for the further development of micro-finance, and market access and development opportunities.

As part of this project assistance is also being provided to improve and augment product development and design of Samoa’s manufacturing sector. Many agro-processing and light manufacturers, especially in rural Samoa, will benefit through this intervention.

“As Samoa embarks upon minimising the effects of the global economic downturn by focusing on the growth and competitiveness of its MSMEs, it is very crucial to ensure that our manufacturers are able to design and develop appropriate products that are in sync with the market needs”, said the acting Prime Minister.

He added: “I appreciate the timely and positive response from the Commonwealth Secretary-General to my request for assistance. This project will aid us in our post-tsunami recovery efforts.”

Project consultations are currently ongoing, involving several stakeholders from the public and private sectors in Samoa, besides the donor community. The project will form a critical input in the Government of Samoa’s consultations for its National Budget 2010.

“Through the various outputs envisaged under this project, we hope to put in place building blocks that will foster the competitiveness of MSMEs across Samoa,” said Ram Venuprasad, the Secretariat’s Enterprise Development Adviser. He added, “In delivering this project we are taking an inclusive approach, which also means that we will place particular importance on women and youth owned and operated MSMEs.”

Key Links:

• Country Profile: Samoa
• Economic Development