The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, officially launched the SMEs e-Directory, on Tuesday afternoon, at the SME Registration Unit in Port Louis. Five new schemes offered by SME Mauritius Ltd were also presented on this occasion.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SME Mauritius Ltd, Mr Ravin Rampersad, and other personalities were present at the launching ceremony.
In his address, Minister Bholah highlighted that, to date, the SMEs e-Directory features some 5,350 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which are classified into districts and according to the services they provide. He emphasised that the objective of this directory, which is a marketing tool for all SMEs, is to promote the products and services they offer. The directory, according to him, is also an important step taken in the public sector in terms of transformation and innovation as the public can have instant access to goods and services provided by SMEs.
The Minister indicated that the recent budget also made provision for the creation of a category of SMEs qualified as ‘Mid-Market Enterprises’, whose turnover is between Rs 100 million and Rs 250 million. He remarked that approximately 142,000 companies in this new category can access the various support plans following their registration with SME Mauritius Ltd.
Furthermore, Mr Bholah recalled that that since the creation of SME Mauritius Ltd in 2017, the Board and staff of the organisation have always come up with innovative schemes for SMEs. He reminded that this has been evidenced even more since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, where SMEs benefited from a series of facilities and support from SME Mauritius Ltd. These include: intensive training; advice; guides; workshops; infrastructure and logistics; as well as support schemes to increase visibility, consolidate competitiveness, and improve the productivity.
As for Mr Rampersad, he provided details regarding the five new schemes which are, namely: Business Transformation Scheme; Market Readiness Scheme; Technology and Innovation Scheme; Greening Support Scheme; and Agri-Business Scheme.
Mr Rampersad also stated that these schemes will greatly contribute to, amongst others, consolidate internal capabilities, improve readiness and competitivity, as well as encourage SMEs to take advantage and make better use of technology. He further encouraged the SMEs to avail of all the facilities offered by SME Mauritius Ltd so as to ensure their expansion and remain competitive.
