As a way to pursue sustainable economic growth through economic diversification, the Minister of Finance, Momoh Kargbo, on Thursday, disclosed that $350,000 USD will be allocated to Small and Medium Enterprises development activities in Sierra Leone.
While signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the International Labour Organisation at the Ministry of Finance conference hall, Kargbo said the support to SMEs development is to promote the growth, productivity and value of locally produced goods.
Kargbo further stated that economic growth can only be achieved with the active participation of the private sector adding that the strategy to strengthen SMEs is also to achieve import substitution and enable local SMEs to benefit from government procurements.
Whilst explaining government effort to improve access to affordable finance for Sierra Leonean businesses, Kargbo said the MOU with ILO aimed to simplify and create synergy in the SME landscape for recovering the country’s economic growth.
Dennis Zulu, Director, ILO, English-speaking West Africa, noted that the objective of the MOU is to support government’s effort in addressing SME development challenges and related issues.
“It was an outcome of ILO mission Report based on the relevance of SMEs in terms of job creations, SMEs challenges, and effective measures to support various policies for promoting SMEs,” Zulu said.
Momoh Pat-Sowe, Minister of Trade, added that Sierra Leone’s economic growth is built on SMEs.
Other representatives from government and the Bank of Sierra Leone deliberated on the essential role of SMEs, Pat-Sowe registered government’s effort and commitment to continue to address the challenges of SMEs.
By Sylvia Villa
Friday May 26, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT