Business : SMEs to get a boost in 2016, says Minister

SMEDA holds regular SME fairs.

During a press conference held on Wednesday, the Minister of Enterprise and Cooperative, Sunil Bholah announced several measures boost SMEs. Operational since December 14 in Port Louis, government agency Mybiz offers under one roof all services entrepreneurs need to start and grow their business. According to the Minister, around 100 entrepreneurs drop by the Mybiz office every day for business coaching, and approval of permits, among others. A Documentation Centre will be established to further accelerate procedures. The centre will also help entrepreneurs wishing to employ foreign workers. Three schemes by MauBank From January 2016, MauBank will introduce three dedicated schemes for SMEs in nine branches across the island and one branch in Rodrigues. In collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the three schemes are being finalised, said Minister Bholah. These include Micro Enterprise Schemes, Creative Entrepreneurship Scheme, and Business Expansion and Sustainability Scheme. Furthermore, Sunil Bholah stressed that entrepreneurs operating in the blue economy, green economy, biotechnology and ICT will be exempted from tax for eight years. SMEDA management The composition of the Board of SMEDA will be reviewed. It will now be composed of people from the BOI, MCCI and MauBank. SME Master Plan A master plan for the development of the SME sector will be spread over ten years. It aims to provide a ‘boost’ for entrepreneurship and that will determine the new direction that SMEs take towards 2025. A tender has been already launched regarding the plan and 29 bidders have expressed interest to work on this plan. SME Parks

100 acres of land provided
3 SME Parks are already operational: La Valette (Bamboo), La Tour Koenig, Roche Bois
The construction of other SME parks in Plaine Magnien, Petit Bois Caroline, Solitude and Vuillemin in 2016
Four other sites were identified at Chebel, Henrietta, Gokhoola and Beau Climat.

In figures: From January to November 2015:

2,297 enterprises registered with 1,656 Start Up
11,267 benefited from counseling services and facilitations
482 entrepreneurs were trained in Entrepreneurship and Management Programs
350 entrepreneurs attended courses on crafts
96 SMEs received Rs 200 000 (per SME) to participate in international fairs companies
37 benefited from MBGS Loan Schemes for a total amount of Rs 27 million.