MINISTRY OF TEATT LAUNCHES MSME DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Philipsburg – On August 2nd, 2022, The acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT), Omar Ottley signed a service level agreement with local entity, A&A Accounting, Business Support & Training Center to launch a training and business support program geared towards the development of micro, small and medium enterprises on the Island (MSMEs).
The training and business support program, which is scheduled to commence in September 2022, was conceptualized based on the National MSME Policy Framework and is designed as a sustainable solution to help strengthen and grow MSMEs and to overcome temporary liquidity problems, protect jobs and, at the same time, allow efficient business continuity and operations with the view to better position MSMEs to cope with the economic fallout.
The program which is expected to run for one year in the first instance will allow for training of 25 existing and aspiring MSMEs and it will cover two components:
Component 1 is based on the support through the St Maarten Enterprise Recovery Project. It is geared for MSMEs interested in applying for a Grant/Loan as a means of recovering from damage to the business due to the passing of the hurricanes in 2017 or the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MSMEs operations.
Component 2 which is an Entrepreneurship Development Program is a capacity building program tailored to converting a person to an entrepreneur by passing him through thoroughly structured training. This program also guides the individuals on how to start the business and effective ways to sustain it successfully.
MSMEs on St. Maarten comprise of 85 percent of formal enterprises in the country. Hence the sector is central to not only economic development, but also social development and as such, the Government of St. Maarten is honored to have partnered with A & A Accounting to implement such an important program for our MSMEs.
A & A Accounting was selected as the preferred entity through a public bidding carried out by the Ministry in April 2021. The firm comes with over 18 years of combined experience in the areas of Business support services, Financial Reporting & Analysis, Tax Law, Labor Law, Risk Management & Audits.
The training is set to target a broad array of eligible sectors which are critical to the blue, green, and orange economies of St Maarten. For further information on the program or to register, please contact admin@aa-accounting.sx or call 721-542-2025.
