Ficci proposes growth strategy

To boost the development of the small and medium sized enterprises (SME) sector, industry body Ficci has recommended a five-pronged strategy, which includes plugging of technology gaps and providing low-cost financing to the small units, reports Hindustan Times.

Networking support for gaining access to new markets and information on new products and technologies, besides provision of institutional support for training and skills development, need to be integrated in the SME sector, a chamber release said.

The strategy could be applied to select clusters at different locations with varied product groups. Based on the experience, the developmental model could be replicated in other clusters, the chamber said.

The National Computing Centre (NCC) will help launch an IT quality standard for SME IT suppliers, says Computer Weekly.

The NCC says SMEs are wary of purchasing technology because they have no way of knowing whether a supplier will be able to fulfil its promises. SME technology suppliers find it hard to get on big company purchasing short-lists because they have no independent mark of quality assurance.

NCC partner AccreditUK aims to solve these problems by creating a quality mark that both groups value.

Entrepreneurs are faced with the challenges of sustaining their SMEs due to a lack of capital and management expertise, according to PRLog.

InnoVest Group plans to establish technology SME incubators in the Middle East and Eurasia region, to minimise the risk of failure among small technology enterprises.

The failure rate among start-up business is normally very high, so when they are on their own without these kinds of integrated support services, they often experience implementation problems. Many are unable to address these successfully, and fail in the first couple of years.