MU-Manufacturing and Servs Dev and Compet

closed

The objective of the Manufacturing and Services Development and Competitiveness Project for Mauritius is to support enterprise growth, competitiveness and employment creation in manufacturing and services sectors. There are four components to the project, the first component being improving access to quality Business Development Services (BDS). This component supports enterprise productivity and competitiveness, specifically in areas of skills and training, technology upgrading, standards and marketing constraints facing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The second component is the strengthening institutional and policy support for existing public-sector SME related institutions. This component focuses on: (a) rationalization and consolidation of existing public sector SME institutions and programs; and (b) establishment of a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) unit to evaluate SME programs to strengthen performance and accountability. The third component is the increasing access to finance to credit constrained SMEs. This component will provide technical assistance in the following areas: (i) to assist in the design of partial risk guarantees and other financial products aimed at catalyzing market finance; and (ii) to provide technical assistance and strengthen implementation of the new Mechanism for Transitional Support for the Private Sector (MTSP) and SME program. Finally, the fourth component is the project coordination and management.