The European SME Week was this year celebrated in the last week of May. Malta joined the 27 member states, in a celebration of our small- and medium-sized enterprises giving focus to their realities and needs in an ever changing environment. This week was given its merited importance by my secretariat as it is pivotal to the philosophy that governs our endeavours – SMEs that are kept at the centre of the government’s attention.
The chosen slogan, ‘Training Business Champions’, sheds light on the importance of pushing our SMEs to ‘new excellence’. Government firmly believes this, and this is most concretely confirmed by the innumerable measures and incentives that are launched and strengthened each year, to sustain this sector. SMEs are the principle artery through which flows all the economic livelihood of Europe. This is even more real in Malta, as 98 per cent of our industry is composed of small- and medium-sized enterprises, the absolute majority of which are micro. This confirms how right Government is to sustain this sector with all possible means.
This year in fact, Government opted to deliver these measures and incentives to a wider spread of people, by bringing the information and the support even closer to those who need it. It is of utmost importance that our SME operators are aware of what benefits they can enjoy, and the Enterprise Mobile Unit helped in having this information being disseminated in our commercial centres in Valletta, Mosta, B’Kara, Paola, Sliema as well as Victoria Gozo.
Officials from various government entities which provide incentives for our SMEs were brought under one mobile-roof, to offer information about the help their organisations offer.
From the Enterprise Mobile Unit, an SME operator could get information from Malta Enterprise, Malta Tourism Authority, the Employment and Training Corporation, the Commerce Division as well as the Ministry of Finance. We wanted to gather as many answers to as many probable questions as possible for the public who responded positively.
As part of the initiatives for SME week, my secretariat also embarked on a partnership with TCTC, a company that specialises in teaching computer skills to all ages and sectors, by sponsoring the e-Biz programme – a computer course for small business owners. The course which is being offered free of charge, is an opportunity for our SMEs to update their skills, as they improve their efficiency and hence their competitivity. During the launch, which was attended by well over a 100 applicants to the course, I reiterated that investment in our businesses does not only imply the buying of new equipment or refurbishing our shop. It may also mean training our employees on how to use more IT tools, in order to bring more added value to the work bench. This also contributes directly to our competitivity.
Also during SME week, the Commerce division organised for the first time an Artisan’s Fair at Romeo Romano Gardens in Santa Venera. In collaboration with the local council, the fair gathered in one place a vast array of Maltese crafts that beautifully outlined the spectrum and colour of a people’s ancient tradition. Visitors could experience a vast variety of crafts, ranging from the production of qubbajt to the painstaking process of making pasturi.
Even in this regard, Government is actively taking the leading role. In the Budget for this year, Government announced a €200,000 vote for four projects aimed at sustaining crafts in Malta. The first ever scientific survey of the crafts scene in Malta will give an accurate, unbiased view of the situation, in order to be able to direct our resources more efficiently and effectively. There will be the creation of an online portal to facilitate online marketing, advertising and sales of our genuine products. This goes hand in hand with a series of lectures that are going to be organised to help our artisans market and sell their products in a world that is ever changing and ever so competitive. Government also plans to set up ‘Gieh l-Artiggjanat’, an award which will reward artisan’s initiatives, with funds that will be used for their own marketing.
SME week was yet another occasion when my Parliamentary Secretariat reiterated its commitment to our small and medium enterprises. This commitment stays real and will be sustained and perpetrated, for the good of the sector. As we always say, if our SMEs flourish, so does the economy.