SMEDA opens a Business Development and Facilitation Centre in Goodlands

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) opened its fourth regional Business Development and Facilitation Centre in Goodlands on 18 November 2016. The ceremony was held at the Farmers Service Centre of the village in presence of the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr Sunil Bholah and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Ashit Gungah and other eminent personalities.

SMEDA is setting up regional Business Development and Facilitation Centres in the North, South, East and West/Centre regions of Mauritius with a view to accelerate the successful development of Start-ups and to strengthen existing businesses through an array of Business Development Services. The Centres are providing assistance to Small and Medium Enterprises, in a pre-defined region both at the Centre or in-house on the premises of the business. It is delivering coaching, mentoring and handholding services to newly registered businesses.

On this occasion, Minister Bholah underlined that Goodlands is a strategic place in the North as both MauBank and Development Bank of Mauritius have got branches in the village. He referred to a panoply of facilities offered by SMEDA and appealed to regional aspiring entrepreneurs to benefit from this opportunity.

He also highlighted the need for smart business plans including the creation of products and the distribution of services such as plumbing, electrical and mechanical.

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Gungah, recalled that Mauritius started to open up its doors to investors in the textile industry in the 1980s. He stressed on the need to further diversify the economy and promote entrepreneurship among the youth as a new pillar of a successful and prosperous country. He also announced that the pharmaceutical and jewellery sectors are likely to experience a boom and encouraged future entrepreneurs to invest in these areas.

The Chairman of the SMEDA board, Mr Parama Valaydon, for his part, said that Business Development and Facilitation Centres are set up to decentralise the activities of SMEDA. He also referred to regional incubators which allow closer cooperation between mentors and would-be entrepreneurs in terms of transfer of knowledge and expertise.