MoE workshop on future of small and medium enterprises

The Ministry of Economy organized yesterday a workshop entitled: A future vision fro developing small and medium enterprises in Lebanon”. The event was held at the Grand Serail under the auspices of the Minister of Economy and Trade, Nicolas Nahhas.
The event is an attempt to create a coordination framework between all stakeholders in the private and public sectors, financial and donor institutions and civil society organisations.  The seminar included a review of the current situation of initiatives and projects which were implemented in support of small and medium enterprises with a view towards identifying their gaps while teasing out lessons for the future.  The second part of the workshop focused on bringing out ideas from participants with a view towards the setting up of a coordination framework which will bring together all these initiatives under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and in coordination with the Prime Minister’s office, the relevant ministries as well as various economic bodies and the central bank.
During the open of the event, the president of Kafalat, Khater Abou Habib, pointed out to the various services provided by his organisation and which include the provision of support to loans, assistance to business incubators and provision of material support to small and medium enterprises.  The vice president of the central bank,Saad Al-Andary, also described the baskets of incentives available to the productive sector and the current trend towards opening new financial opportunities rather then providing direct funding.  He also highlighted the importance of the collaboration between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in order to put in place the mechanisms needed for improving the performance of small and micro enterprises.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Safir, Al-Diyar 15 May 2013