Charles Rivkin, Assistant Secretary of State Economic and Business Affairs, US Department of State, has called for reform of policies on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so they can contribute to economic growth
In his address at a competitiveness and innovation luncheon at the VIII Americas Competitivenesss Forum (ACF) which ended on Friday, Rivkin said there is need to reform SME laws so entrepreneurs can have ease of doing business. He said today's economy also requires SMEs to have an understanding of available technology and innovation, and how to use it to reach customers, partners and new markets.
"They need to provide and access digital products, services and information. They need to transfer data to run their global operations, and they need to utilize ICT infrastructure," he said."The state of SMEs economic health is directly related to the health of the entire region. The more countries can reform their policies to let domestic SMEs compete and thrive, the more those SMEs would become engines for those economies, and become responsible and profitable industries on a global scale."
Rivkin said if SMEs are to contribute to their domestic economies by trading internationally they need trade and customs policies that help them. He said SMEs are responsible for more than 70 per cent of net new job creation in the US, and that figure is "higher in the Americas."He said SMEs have the potential to increase the export volume in a country and there are countless opportunities for partnerships and growth potential that can benefit all countries.
"Ninety-eight per cent of US firms are small businesses, only one per cent of those businesses actually export," he saidRavkin called for the removal of the barriers which women face as entrepreneurs: "Investing in women is a key factor to accelerating economic growth. Studies to support this are literally overwhelming."
He said Latin America and the Caribbean has seen significant growth in intra-regional trade as value chains have developed. Many countries have reduced barriers to cross-border trade and investment and trade has more than quadrupled from an estimated US$92 billion in 2002 to US$380 billion in 2012."Working to ensure small businesses can start, grow, and thrive in an integrated regional economy with few barriers to trade is critical," Rivkin said.