As Morocco gears up for the fifth annual global entrepreneurship summit from 19 to 21 November 2014, all types of people are gathering together, such as entrepreneurs, heads of state, government officials, global entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporate leaders and young entrepreneurs.
I decided to google the status of SMEs and government support provided to enhance their growth and strengthen their role. I typed “SME support” and clicked search:
Japan
For the private sector financial institutions, the government guarantees the loans taken out with such institutions by SMEs and pays it back in subrogation if the SME concerned does not.
The tax system for SMEs is one of the most important measures for supporting SMEs. Alleviating the tax burden by means of various preferential tax reduction and exemption measures supports efforts to stimulate the business activities of SMEs.
There is a project to support hiring new graduates via offering internships for new graduates and those who have not found employment within three years of graduating, in order to teach them the skills, techniques, and know-how required when working for SMEs.
EU
SMEs bidding for public tenders can provide self-declarations, rather than original documents or certificates, showing that they meet eligibility criteria. Only the winning bidder would be asked to provide the original documents.
Breaking tenders down into smaller lots is encouraged. Together with a greater use of e-procurement, these modernized rules in the proposed Public Procurement Directive of the EU would facilitate the participation of SMEs in contracts worth about 18 percent of EU GDP.
UAE
There is a legislation now granting SMEs exemptions from customs tax for equipment, raw materials and goods for production purposes. Under the legislation, federal authorities and ministries must contract at least 10 percent of their procurement budget for purchasing, servicing and consulting to SMEs. Government-related firms, in which the federal government holds stakes of more than 25 percent, must also ensure at least 5 percent of their contracts are with SMEs.
Egypt
What about Egypt? I did not use the Google search tools to select “country: Egypt,” so I modified the search and retried:
I found a document entitled, “Developing a Procurement Reform Program Supporting SME Development In Egypt,” a background study from the Ministry of Foreign Trade, dated March 2002.
The document said some countries have established programs to encourage the use of SMEs in subcontracting with large business. In such programs, the government awards a contract to a large firm with the requirement or goal that the large firm purchase a percentage of the value of its intermediate inputs from SMEs.
But really, 2002 is the latest we can come up with? And it's only a background study?
“Come on,” I thought. “Maybe if I change the search key words, I can find more on the actions taken by our government.”
I typed in, “Supporting SMEs as a driving force to the Egyptian economy” and clicked search.
“Web page not available!” I suppose we need to work on that…
