SME Development

Advice to SME in developing countries plays an important role in development aid as it benefits the overall economy in terms of increasing employment and improving social conditions, as SME tend to be labour intensive and offer employment to large parts of society. To strengthen SME in developing countries, GFE has designed and implemented a number of SME development programmes and has helped improve the work of local project management units through a gradual transfer of knowledge.

GFE's advisory services to SME in over 50 countries have included activities both at company and sector levels, including export and management training, product development, quality management, marketing advice, financial advice, organisation of seminars and workshops, trade fair assistance and promotion, organisation of inward buyers missions and investment promotion.

TDP – Management Assistance to the Jamaican SME

The Jamaica Trade Development Project to the SME, TDP, is a technical assistance project jointly financed by the 8th European Development Fund, EDF, and a contribution from the Government of Jamaica. The implementing agency is the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). Within this three-year programme, GFE provides management assistance in the field of export and marketing advice, financial advice and project accounting through three long-term advisers.

The TDP helps beneficiary companies, which may come from all sectors of industry but are selected according to high-performance eligibility criteria, to maximise their growth potential through tailor-made assistance programmes. Through the use of consultancy services, enterprises will be assisted in designing and implementing business plans to increase product quality, efficiency and exports and to improve their business performance. In addition will the programme assist the enterprises in seeking financial institutional assistance to secure low cost financing to cover the costs of equipment purchases and working capital requirements. The TDP assists beneficiary companies in identifying financial schemes and helping them tailor their business plans meet the requirements of the financial institutions.
The TDP has two project purposes. Firstly, to increase international competitiveness of private sector exporters and secondly to develop the market for export and tourism related services. These two purposes are inter-related.
The first will be achieved by carrying out detailed company diagnostics and encouraging companies to implement medium to long-term business development plans.
Free assistance will be provided to companies and Associations in order to have a thorough diagnostic carried out and to prepare business plans. Companies and Associations will be assisted in implementing the business development plan by the provision of a grant covering 50% of the costs of eligble activities including external services.
The second purpose will be achieved by encouraging companies and Associations to invest in local business development services as a means of improving competitiveness and secondly, encouraging local service providers to develop their supply of specialised skills. Grants will be provided to those companies who want to buy or rent the services of a local service provider. Where services cannot be provided locally or are inadequate, companies will be able to use the grant to buy the services of foreign service providers. Local service providers will also benefit from a 50% grant (service provider fund) to develop their specialised skills.
The TDP operates along a cost-sharing grant scheme (CSGS). It targets two categories of beneficiary - private sector companies that have demonstrated export Potential (service users) and service providers. For exporting companies to benefit from the business development grant they must have undertaken a free company diagnostic. All service providers will be eligible for assistance provided a need for their services has been demonstrated during the company diagnostic.
For a company to be eligible for the company diagnostic they must 'submit an application to the PMU, have been visited by Project officers and must be approved by the PMU. Once the diagnostic has been completed, a report on the findings will be compiled and the company's business plan redrafted. These documents will form the basis for an application to the PMU for the commitment of funds from the business development and service provider grant facilities.

Private Sector Development Programme in Egypt: Support to SME companies

The Government of Egypt and the European Community provide technical assistance to virtually all sectors of Egyptian business through the Private Sector Development Programme. One main element is the provision of consultancy assistance to individual companies: Business Upgrading. The other element of the support programme is consultancy and training services rendered to groups of beneficiary companies having a common need for assistance. Each group contains of 20 to 40 companies, typically from the same sector.

GFE was entrusted with the task to reorganise a company, doing business in hospital maintenance. The organisational structure was revised and optimised to gain more efficiency. Training plans were developed and implemented. An accounting system was introduced and staffs were trained in usage. GFE additionally developed a strategy to enter new sectors, such as wind turbines and mobile toilets. A market study has been undertaken and strategic planning has been done in closest cooperation with the management.

· Market study and strategy planning

· Human resources development

· Training needs assessment

· Introduction and training of accounting system

· Joint venture promotion with EU companies

Creation of Chambers of Handicrafts: in Morocco, Mauritius and in Poland

The Handwerkskammer Rhein-Main - Chamber of Handicrafts - together with GFE Consulting Worldwide entered in 1985 in a partnership. Since in frame of this partnership the Chamber of Handicrafts Fez (Morocco) and the Chamber of Handicrafts Gdansk had been established and assisted through a long term twinning agreement..

The objective of this co-operation was to set up new Chamber of Handicrafts in Morocco and Poland, which fulfilled European standards in order to strengthen the private sector organisations, to improve the skills of the handicrafts sector and to promote the SME sector. The German Ministry of Co-operation, through German GTZ, funded both projects. Activities included:

I. Construction of the new buildings for the new Chamber’s administrations and the vocational training centres (including dormitories), together with tendering procedures, purchase and installation of the necessary equipment. Consequently, the set up of the Chamber’s administrations, departments and company registrars for over 24,000 SMEs belonging to the Chambers was realised.

II. Development of curriculum and training-of-trainers in Frankfurt in the two vocational training centres of the Chamber of Handicrafts Frankfurt and by delegating trainers. Renewing equipment, methods and training skills.

III. Promotion of the handicrafts sector as a whole through exports sales, exhibitions, sales missions and promoting German/Moroccan and German/Polish co-operation between companies.

IV. Assisting the parliament in voting new legislation in favour of the private sector.

After successful completion of the projects the relations between the Chambers of Fez, Gdansk and Frankfurt are maintained and many fruitful co-operations, such as exchange programs for trainers, support at international fairs, trainee / information exchange programs, etc. still take place on an ongoing and regular basis.

· Institution and Capacity Building;

· Curriculum and Portfolio Development;

· Design and Administration of Vocational Training Centres;

· Construction of new buildings for the Chambers’ administration and vocational training centre (with dormitories);

· Call for tendering procedures, purchase of equipments and installation of the equipments for the new centres;

· Training-of-Trainers (in the two vocational training centres of the Chamber of Handicrafts Frankfurt in Frankfurt and by delegating trainers to Fez and Gdansk);

· Set up of the Chambers’ administration departments, registration of companies and census of 24.000 SMEs belonging to the Chamber, and creation of new operational data-bank;

· Renewing equipments, methods, trainings skills; and

· Assisting the parliament in voting new legislation in favour of the private sector.