By: Saidu Jalloh
The Honorable Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alpha Ibrahim Sesay, on Wednesday, 25th September 2024, Delivered a Keynote Address at the National Stakeholders Consultation on the Review of the SME Policy 2014, SMEDA Act 2016 and the Development of SMEDA Regulation in Kenema District, Eastern Region Sierra Leone.
In his opening remarks, Minister Sesay welcomed and thanked all participants and stakeholders for participating in the review of the SME Policy, SMEDA Act, and the Development of SMEDA Regulations. He emphasized the need for open discussion wherein the voices of critical SME’s and other stakeholders could be heard.
According to him, this consultation should produce an inclusive document that reflects our collective aspirations.
In his view, SME’s are the backbone of Sierra Leone’s economy, critical in driving economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction. SME’s contribute significantly to Sierra Leone’s GDP and provide essential goods, services, and employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth. They provide livelihood for approximately 70% of our population and represent over 90% of the domestic private sector.
Through the SMEDA Act of 2016, the Government of Sierra Leone established the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDA) to coordinate the implementation of development programs for SMEs across the country.
He mentioned the achievement of SME policy and the SMEDA Act of 2016, in which access to finance increased by 12.9% through the MUNAFA Fund, commercial lending, technical and Institutional Capacity building increased significantly by 54% with support from donors, productivity, Market Access, and Competitiveness increased by 14.3%, and entrepreneurial Awareness and job Creation increased by 34%.
He underscored the reason for the review, which he stated were to improve the SME landscape and Ecosystem, to formalize the informal sector and reduce compliance by 15%, to improve domestic participation and diversify our economy, Social and Environmental Responsibility such as climate change issues, fertilizers application to crops especially those within the agro-processing space and women and Youth empowerment to provide dedicated funding schemes and capacity building initiatives to increase women and youth participation in the MSME’s by minimum of 30% with five years.
In his concluding statement, he encouraged participation to make the necessary input in the document to better Sierra Leone.
