Three months ago, the Prime Minister asked me to nurture the government's commitment towards small enterprises; ventures that form the cradle of our country and have the potential of moving the economy to new frontiers with their energy, dynamism and commitment. Three months ago, I promised I will do my utmost to listen to our entrepreneurs and be closer to this segment of our society.
In the context of this challenge to provide an improved and fertile environment for entrepreneurs, over the past three weeks I have invited about 12,000 small businesses to five meetings in various localities covering all of Malta and Gozo. The sessions, which were very well attended by small business operators and entrepreneurs from wide-varying backgrounds and sectors, were held to meet the people behind our companies; understand their realities and recognise the ways in which this government can further sustain their development.
In many cases, representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment, Malta Enterprise and the Commerce Division were able to provide immediate answers and, where this was not possible, I sought to be aware of the underlying issues of the various businesses and sectors and how these could be taken into consideration in our policies. Those who could not attend the meetings have been in touch with us via e-mail (djaloguSME@gov.mt) which the Parliamentary Secretariat for Small Business and Land has set up in order to provide more ways for these companies to reach us.
It was encouraging to see how the main concerns of businesses and the way in which they believe the whole business environment should look in the future tally intimately with the initiatives towards which the government has committed itself in order to foster a climate of fair competition, stability and efficiency. The establishment of the MicroInvest and MicroCredit schemes (the latter to commence within the next few months); the ongoing work on the drafting of a new Act for Small Business, for more user-friendly and less burdensome legislations; the reforms for the establishment of a point of single contact and a business service centre; and the major reforms brought about with the transposition of the Services Directive are all testament to the proactive approach of this secretariat and this government.
Complementing these initiatives, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and I last week launched another session of the European SME week. This event takes place in parallel with SME weeks in all of the 27 member states of the European Union and has the aim of providing accessible information to business and promoting entrepreneurship. An Enterprise Mobile Unit, with representatives of various entities and authorities, roamed the island for the convenience of businesses, while entrepreneurs, business representatives and myself met students at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the Institute of Tourism Studies and at the University of Malta to share their experiences on the world of enterprise.
This secretariat will continue to dialogue with the self-employed and small businesses. However, while still grounded in our present realities, our proximity with them will be coupled with appropriate action, where necessary, to address particular issues that may hinder the development of a better business environment for our SMEs.
jason.azzopardi@gov.mt
Dr Azzopardi is Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Land