Any wise country who would like to sustain its economic growth will always bank on the budding SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to make sure that business and trade of the nation will remain dynamic. In fact, some of the most powerful economies around the world believe that providing funding and financial aids to start up businesses is one of the keys to boost the economy while also promoting greater innovation in different sectors. The World Economic forum for instance listed 3 Asian nations in 2013 who seem to lead the way in terms of providing grants for sme in their respective nations namely Israel, Korea, and Japan.
“Whoever said that the future of economic power is in Asia, sure had a good basis for saying so,” said economist William Perry. “It is good for a nation to support its start up businesses because competition prompts business owners to improve their products. And with this, research and development should always be supported,” he further added.
In countries like Singapore for instance, any sme is encouraged to apply to for grants to ensure that it will be directed into a better, sturdy ground, “ Two of my sme businesses here in Singapore—one on farming equipment and the other on animal food—have been awarded with grants for their potential to give more jobs and help local farmers in their needs. The government especially like supporting businesses in agriculture and animal welfare so I got a handsome amount to operate according to my timetable,” shared Tim Liu-Lee.
Similarly, Western countries always find it best to help out in ensuring that people can manage to start a small business. In an article of Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, the writer mentioned how the US has sought ways to help women entrepreneurs to find their niche in the sme world. “The United States has made economic development a central tenet of its national security policy, alongside defense and diplomacy. One of the best and most cost-effective avenues for furthering economic development is investing in locally owned businesses, and yet the United States currently has no means for effectively and efficiently doing so. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have shown great potential in spurring economies, but their owners—especially women—are often unable to acquire the skills, resources, and support necessary to grow and sustain their businesses. Promoting local programs and global initiatives that encourage investments in SMEs and women entrepreneurs in lower-income countries will strengthen growth engines, diversify economies, improve communal well-being, stabilize societies, and accelerate progress toward international development goals. All of these results are in the interest of the United States, and could be achieved more quickly with the creation of an American development bank that aims to invest in and direct technical assistance to entrepreneurs in lower-income nations—the next-generation emerging markets.
This can be done by expanding on the work already under way at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Though several multilateral organizations have tackled pieces of this work, the United States has a unique role to play: investing in entrepreneurialism that creates jobs, bolsters the middle class, and spurs economic growth,” wrote Lemmon in her piece for cfr.org titled Banking on Growth: U.S. Support for Small and Medium Enterprises in Least-Developed Countries.
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