India's SMEs set the pace

The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) in India says the country's small to medium-size enterprise (SME) sector is a role model for developing countries, reports SME Times.

The group says foreign business delegations show a keen interest in training-cum-incubation centres for SMEs. The NSIC incubation centres help create self-employment opportunities by imparting training in entrepreneurship in the manufacturing or services sectors.

There are currently 48 incubation centres in India, which the NSIC plans to increase to 200 by the end of 2010.

SAP has revealed a hosting offering from its channel partners for SMEs to provide a delivery channel for SAP solutions in Australia and New Zealand, states Scoop.

Ciber, a SAP integration partner, is the first to offer hosting as an alternative to the traditional on-premise deployment option. The offering allows SMEs to implement and run SAP Business All-in-One solutions without the need to hire or train dedicated IT staff.

“SAP's strategy is to deliver our software in any way the customer wants to consume it,” says Helen Masters, GM of growth markets at SAP. “That could be any combination of on-premise or on-demand, on the device of their choice.”

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has partnered with IBM in the Philippines to release an updated version of the SME toolkit, says Business Mirror.

The solution, an online Web site, offers entrepreneurs and SMEs an opportunity to learn to implement sustainable business-management practices needed for growth, such as finance, accounting, business planning, international business, marketing, human resources and legal information.

“The SME Toolkit Web site gives Filipino SMEs the necessary tools and applications in managing and running their business better,” says Maria Bernadette Ratcliffe, PDB SME solutions treasurer.