Investment bureau creates definitions for SMEs

(CNS): The Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce says that the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau (CIIB) is working on developing specific definitions of micro-businesses for the country’s small and medium-enterprises sector (MSME’s).  Minister Charles Clifford said the initiative is aimed at ensuring more targeted development assistance in future.

“Given the importance of small business development to the continued economic prosperity of the Cayman Islands, the establishment of definitions concerning enterprises in this sector is an essential base for government policy,” he said.

Dr Basdeo, Executive Director of the CIIB, explained that in the past this group has been inconsistently defined across sectors in the Cayman Islands. This has made gathering MSME data difficult and directing assistance to businesses that need it most has also been problematic.

Basdeo cited as an example the importance of having proper definitions to support businesses which will emerge under the Go East Project, which is geared towards fostering tourism development in the eastern districts. Basdeo said that definition input was sought from key stakeholders: “We have consulted several entities in both the public and private sectors, and we also incorporated considerations from regional and international definitions,” he noted.Basdeo encouraged local stakeholders and others in the business community to provide further input in order to finalise these definitions.

 “Despite the poor global economic outlook for 2009, we know that opportunities will exist for local entrepreneurs in our MSME sector.  Our goal is to support them so they can achieve their highest potential, thereby bolstering our economic capacity to handle such economic conditions,” Clifford said.