India, South Africa explore cooperation and collaboration in MSME sector
New Delhi, June 2
India and South Africa explored opportunities to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in the MSME sector, recognising its vital role in economic growth, employment generation, and inclusive development, the government has said.
According to an official statement, both sides discussed potential areas of cooperation, including enhancing access to finance, promoting enterprise formalisation, accelerating digitalisation, strengthening entrepreneurship and skilling in MSME development.
The meeting was held in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), led by MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, with a delegation from South Africa led by Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni.
The meeting reflected shared commitment of India and South Africa to deepen bilateral engagement and foster a supportive ecosystem for the growth and competitiveness of MSMEs in both countries, the statement added.
Meanwhile, there is a need for a multi-pronged approach to bridge the technology divide through greater digital inclusion, stronger innovation capabilities, and improved technology readiness of MSMEs to support their integration into regional and global value chains.
This was conveyed at the second 'SME Working Group Meeting' by the Ministry of MSME under the 'BRICS Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR)' here. The meeting saw active participation from BRICS Member Countries and provided a platform for sharing experiences and best practices, while underscoring the role of MSMEs in economic growth, employment generation, innovation, and inclusive development.
"Discussions highlighted the need for a multi-pronged approach to bridge the technology divide through greater digital inclusion, stronger innovation capabilities, and improved technology readiness of MSMEs to support their integration into regional and global value chains," according to an earlier statement.
The meet also reiterated the importance of deeper collaboration among BRICS economies in technology access, innovation ecosystems, and skills development for MSMEs.
The deliberations enabled valuable policy exchange among countries facing similar developmental challenges and reinforced the shared commitment to building resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive MSME sectors across BRICS economies.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Good to see focus on MSMEs, but let's be honest - while we talk about 'bridging the technology divide' in BRICS meetings, our small businesses back home still struggle with basic things like timely loans and payment delays from big companies. South-South cooperation is important, but first ensure our own MSMEs get the support they actually need. Just saying.
As someone whose family runs a small manufacturing unit, I appreciate the emphasis on digitalisation. But implementing these changes on ground level is tough - many of us don't have the bandwidth or resources for new tech. Hope this collaboration translates into practical training programs, not just high-level talks. 🤔
Interesting that both countries are facing similar challenges - that's where the real value comes in. South Africa's experience with township economies and our challenges with the unorganised sector have many parallels. This kind of peer learning often works better than copying developed country models. 👍
While global partnerships are fine, I hope the Ministry doesn't lose focus on domestic priorities. Our MSMEs are still reeling from GST complications and the pandemic's impact. Access to finance is mentioned - hope this translates to easier credit for our small entrepreneurs who are still paying 12-15% interest rates.
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