In
developing countries, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a group produce an
overwhelming proportion of national production and provide the largest
employment opportunities for the population. Yet in most developing countries
this large group of enterprises have not been accorded sufficient attention in
development plans and policies. These enterprises are, by definition, very
small and scattered all over the country. Records over their existence are
mostly not available. It is therefore usually very difficult to identify their
location, type of products they produce, how they produce their products and so
forth. In many cases, once they develop into centres of production of specific
goods, such as handicrafts, furniture, traditional medicines and others, they
could be identified more clearly. If their products are exportable, then it would
be even easier to locate and identify their existence. Many of them, however, remain
to run their small enterprises in accordance to the ways such enterprises have
been run in the past. As they grow in size, shortcomings in management,
administrative and technical practices become more apparent and revealed.
Research
shows that in many developing countries there have been projects established by
different groups of people and institutions, both public as well as private,
that provide technical assistance, including marketing, and funding to a number
of these enterprises. However, national picture on this development remains
vague. Further step is required to establish a ‘National Incubation Centre’ that
provides cooperative arrangements with various institutions as a contribution
to national effort in supporting as many SMEs as possible. This effort requires
full cooperation of the public and the private sectors to maximize the support for
the SMEs.
Experiences in many economically
active and developed countries have shown that entrepreneurship and business
incubators are two important engines for economic growth. These have
contributed greatly to the creation of new businesses, in providing employment
and improving the competitiveness of companies. For entrepreneurship and
business incubators to develop in any country, there must be a favourable,
coherent and transparent government policy and strategy that could support
their long-term sustainability. In the inevitable march towards free trade and
globalization, this action has become a top priority among NAM member
countries.
On this ground, NAM CSSTC and
the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources has successfully conducted a
Workshop on E-Commerce for SMEs, held on 29-30 October 2001 in Bandar Seri
Begawan. The project was financed by the Government of Brunei Darussalam and considered
to have met its objective. A number of action plans has been resulted from the
workshop, particularly on how to fully adopt and utilize the e-commerce by SMEs. The workshop has
greatly contributed to the efforts of eradicating poverty among NAM member
countries.
A follow-up meeting
was held to further technically share views and experiences of business
incubators and entrepreneurship development in different countries. The project
was also financed by the Government of Brunei Darussalam chanelled through the
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources in cooperation with NAM CSSTC. The meeting
was attended by experts and participants from twenty three NAM member countries,
namely: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Lesotho, Mauritius,
Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru,
Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.
This publication includes the
process and outputs of the follow-up meeting on ‘Increasing Prospects for Rapid
and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development through Business Incubators and
Entrepreneurship’ held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, on 21-23
October 2003. It is expected to be a useful reference for SMEs development that
has become a common concern of the developing countries.
Publisher