Finance Minister of State Says MSME Industry is Booming

The past three years saw a surge in unemployment due to financial constraints that caused businesses to downsize in staff to cut down on expenses or even completely shut down. However, this prompted people to embark on their own business ventures as a way to make ends meet. But, according to the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Christopher Coye, Micro, Small, and Medium Sized Enterprises have blossomed into a sector of their own, and are significantly contributing to the country’s economic growth. Minister Coye adds that GOB’s efforts to create incentives for MSMEs to enter into the formal market and reap the benefits have been very effective.

Christopher Coye, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance: “Well I think it has been a tremendous success. I think it has allowed small business owners to get exposed to where the opportunities lie that those road shows actually represented the prelude to the enactment of this fiscal incentives law. So it enabled them to know okay we are going to pull this law together that would provide incentives for you and we are here for you to encourage and support your small business development. So now having or building that awareness enables small business to be able to take advantage of these opportunities, these not only in terms of finance but in terms of technical support I think there was a small business incubator that was launched just last Friday and that allows small business to benefit from technical assistance or even use of those resources to support their small business development.”