SME Mauritius Ltd and the Association of Mauritian Manufacturers (AMM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday at the seat of Chelvan Furniture Ltd in Curepipe, in the context of the Made in Moris label. The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr. Soomilduth Bholah, and other personalities were present on that occasion.
The MoU aims at facilitating the implementation of a budgetary measure for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), whereby Government contributes Rs 5,000 towards the costs of membership in the Made in Moris label. Signatories were Mr Raj Puddoo for SME Mauritius Ltd and Mr Sylvan Oxenham for the AMM.
In his address, Minister Bholah highlighted that the budgetary measure reflects both Government’s ambition of making SMEs the backbone of the country’s economy, and the commendable work by Made in Moris under the aegis of the AMM. He recalled that Government’s vision is to provide the necessary guidance and support to SMEs so as to strengthen their competitiveness and the quality of their products and help them meet the challenges of local and international markets.
The Minister underscored that, as at date, over 70 companies, including 20 SMEs, have adhered to the Made in Moris concept, which encompass more than 250 brands. He pointed out that the Made in Moris label offers numerous advantages to SMEs. The Made in Moris initiative helps SMEs to establish the authenticity of the product offered for sale and thus raise the confidence of potential buyers; adopt production techniques that meet established standards; and highlight the Mauritian brands and increase their visibility across different platforms.
Mr. Bholah underlined that the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) will also help SMEs abide by the highest manufacturing norms while assisting them in uplifting their operations through the NPCC’s Enterprise Transformation Programme, in order to obtain the Made in Moris label. Under this initiative, the NPCC works with the company to improve the performance of its staff and processes. It also assesses the business needs and assists the company in aligning the staff and processes so that in turn the business delivers results and secures significant gains.
A symbolic handing over of cheques to a first batch of SMEs benefiting from the one-off financial contribution of Rs 5,000 for membership in the Made in Moris label was held on that occasion.
Source: Government of Mauritius