Food

SASD - Enterprise and Agriculture

The Commonwealth Secretariat

Emphasis is on MSMEs in the agricultural, fisheries, light manufacturing and services sectors. Key areas of support include strategy and policy formulation for sustainable development of MSMEs as well as capacity building to enhance their competitive advantage. Technical assistance is also provided on effective application and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by MSMEs and on reform of national regulatory frameworks and institutions to ensure MSMEs’ compliance with international food safety and quality control regulations.

Our key objective in this area is to support and enhance the capacity of Commonwealth
member countries to promote viable and competitive micro-, small and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs) that contribute to equitable economic growth and poverty reduction.

Examples of ongoing projects

A two-stage intervention in Belize is intended to strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs. The first stage was the development of a National SME Strategic Plan and Database; the second, based on a request from the Prime Minister, added an extension plan to cover micro enterprises. Assistance is also being provided to review the country’s economic development act for MSMEs and to develop an economic productivity benchmarking tool based on ICTs.
Support provided to Malawi through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development will help develop a strategy for building the sustainability and competitiveness of mainly rural-based MSMEs, using the One Village One Product (OVOP) approach. OVOP assists communities to add value to their products, facilitates small-scale business skills development for local communities and increases the capability of communities to generate income.

Technical assistance to Swaziland will strengthen the supply and value chain of the handicraft sector though the design of a public-private sector institution called SWAZI Inc. This has membership from and creates a relationship among the sector’s three different tiers: informed economic agents (foreign-owned businesses in urban areas); the Government’s marketing and distribution institution (Swaziland Trading House); and micro and small enterprises, which are mainly women-owned and rural-based. A branding exercise has begun so that all members will use the same logo and brochures, and a permanent e-space has been provided for companies to advertise their products.

Through a consultative process, Uganda has identified the main elements of a coherent national SME strategy and policy that includes consideration of an SME Act; changes to the institutional arrangements for delivering SME programmes, including the introduction of a private sector coordinating committee to oversee SME development; and delivering an integrated SME programme using public-private partnerships.

SMEs predominate in the country’s private sector and provide employment for about 90 per cent (1.5 million) of the non-farm agricultural work force.

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