Clusterkraft Newsletter

State Bank of India (SBI) is eyeing over Rs 20,000 crore lending business from businessmen who sign MoU with Gujarat government during the Vibrant Gujarat Investors' Summit in January 2009. SBI will have an exclusive arrangement with the state government for the investor's meet. SBI's chairman OP Bhatt will fly down shortly to finalise the agreement with the government. Big, medium and small sized units will also get benefit of this arrangement. "We are expecting a lending business of over Rs 20,000 crore during the summit," said HC Pattnaik, chief general manager, SBI. The bank is hopeful that the cluster-based development More…

Cluster development programme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be outlined again

December 27, 2008 -- The development plan will be redrawn under the joint programme of the Department of Industrial Production and Promotion (DIPP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido). So far, eight clusters have been identified for carrying out the Integrated Cluster Development Programme (ICDP). These model clusters include auto components clusters in Pithampura (MP), Chennai and Pune, machine tools cluster in Bangalore, chemical cluster in Ankleshwar, foundry clusters in Coimbatore and Belgaum and leather cluster in Kanpur. The number of SME clusters under the integrated cluster programme More…

Project Monitor reported that the tender process for infrastructure in the foundry park to be developed at Howrah in Hooghly district of West Bengal by the Foundry Cluster Development Association, a special purpose vehicle is in progress. Mr Tapash Chatterjee CEO cum Secretary Foundry Cluster Development Association said that "Nearly 126 members have evinced interest in the project." Mr Chatterjee said that phase-I, comprising 75 units would come up on 270 acres. The tender will be finalized by the end of January 2009 and work will be implemented for 12 to 14 months from the zero date of award of contract. He said that More…

SBI, SIDBI, Canara Bank cut SME lending rates

State Bank of India, Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) and Canara Bank have lowered interest rate on loans extended to micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs). SBI said it has brought down the interest rate for working capital loans to micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with immediate effect. Effective from December 16, the country's largest bank has lowered the rates by 50-100 basis points. With this reduction, the micro enterprises will be able to avail working capital finance at as low as 10.25 per cent. "This reduction has been brought about for SSIs as well as larger manufacturing MSMEs, with working capital More…

Gujarat MSMEs Submit 'Wish List' to the Prime Minister

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Gujarat have presented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a 20-point 'wish list' to sustain and stabilise the sector, which is probably the worst-hit by the global financial turmoil. There are nearly 3.20 lakh MSMEs in the state that will be directly benefitted if these wishes are granted. The Gujarat State Small Industries Federation (GSSIF), which, along with 15 other associations across the country, met the PM, informed that although the Reserve Bank of India and the Centre had announced a fiscal stimulus package some time ago, these measures are not enough. The president GSSIF More…

State-run Union Bank on 23 Dec 2008, announced opening 100 specialised branches focussing on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME). Union Bank General Manager S L Bhansal told reporters here that these branches would be manned by specially trained staff including credit analysts and technical officers and would be located in the MSME-centric regions. Meanwhile in Chennai, UBI Field General Manager P Y Nagar informed told media today that "They are meant for customers in this segment with limits up to Rs 35 crore or having a turnover less than Rs 1,000 crore."Proposals would be discussed using the video conferencing More…

New Delhi: The government will set a goal of creating 500 million trained technicians by 2020, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Saturday. "In our National Action for Skill Development, we would like to set for the country the ambitious goal of 500 million trained people by 2020," the prime minister said while speaking at the National Awards presentation to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). This was in keeping with Sonia Gandhi's vision of Rozgar Badhao (increase employment), he added. "With one of the youngest populations in the world, India is estimated to have the capacity to create 500 million skilled More…

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) 27th December 2008 approved a fiscal package that will enable Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) to offer higher risk cover to exporters and for banks. This will encourage banks to lend more freely to exporters at a time when payment risk is high because of the ongoing financial crisis in major markets like the US and Europe. ECGC will now provide an enhanced risk cover at 95 per cent (previously 85 per cent) for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It will also provide enhanced risk cover, 85 per cent, (previously 75 per cent) for bank loans to MSME exporters. More…

UNIDO trains Chennai Footwear Cluster in Italian Manufacturing Techniques: 5 December 2008

In a major initiative to upgrade the Indian leather footwear industry, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is cooperating with the leather footwear cluster in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and the Indian Shoe Federation (ISF) as its partner under UNIDO's Consolidated Project for SME (small and medium enterprises) Development in India, funded by the Government of Italy. The broad objectives of the three-year project are to enhance the global competitiveness of Indian micro, small and medium footwear enterprises by improving their access to finance and technology; attract larger inflow of investment and technology More…

ADDIS ABABA, December 29, 2008 -- A Loan Agreement for the General Education Quality Improvement Program (GEQIP) was signed today by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the World Bank. The Agreement amounting to USD $50 million was signed at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED). As stipulated in the agreement, the GEQIP aims to support Ethiopia's effort to improve the quality of general education through among other things, improvements in (a) teaching and learning conditions in primary and secondary institutions and (b) management planning and budget capacity More…

Government of Canada invests in PEI's Nutriscience and Health Research - Technology Cluster

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State, Science and Technology, and the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on 21st December 2008 announced a renewed investment in the National Research Council (NRC) Nutrisciences and Health technology cluster initiative in Charlottetown. This renewed investment will enable Prince Edward Island researchers to continue working to prevent disease and improve the health of Canadians. "Our Government understands that advances in science and technology are essential to strengthen the competitiveness of Canada's economy and our quality of life," said More…

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 17 - Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will soon be introduced to the electronic trading opportunities, Export Promotion Council (EPC) officials have revealed. EPC Chief Executive Officer Matanda Wabuyele said on Wednesday that through this platform which uses electronic commerce technologies, SMEs will be able to directly sell and expose their products to international buyers thus boost their export earning. "From the electronic trading opportunities, they will graduate to the global trade directory services which will give them enormous opening for exchanging information on the buying and selling leads More…

Jambi's banking sector performed poorly in the third quarter of this year due to the current global financial crisis. Loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) lead the overall growth and performance. Head of the Jambi branch of the state lender Bank BRI, Kaspiyah, said Wednesday that the crisis has caused foreign exchange to dry up nationwide, leading to the weakening of the rupiah. "The crisis has also led to weakening export demands while at the same time a surge in imported products," he said. "These factors would affect banking sector performance as future credit expectation is influenced by performance of real sectors." More…

Davao's MSMEs availed The Department of Trade and Industry's Pro-poor Program

A total of 47 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have availed the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) One-Town One-Product Program (OTOP) in the Davao Region this year. DTI Regional Director Marison Loreto said OTOP focused projects in each town and cities in the region with the strong involvement of the local government units and local partners. It is supported by another pro-poor program, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Loreto said the program has generated 1,688 community-based and home-based jobs, and generated exports sales worth 1,390 US dollars and domestic sales worth P67 million. More…

European Union Funded Cluster Sensitisation Forum to Stimulate Growth in SMEs

The Business Gateway, in collaboration with the Dominica Export Import Agency (DEXIA), held an EU-funded Business Gateway Cluster Sensitisation Forum on Wednesday 17th December 2008 in Dominica. The Business Gateway is a private sector development programme funded by the European Union (EU) under its Special Framework of Assistance (SFA 2004). The program is being implemented by DEXIA, in collaboration with its partners, WHITCO Development Institute, the Dominica Bureau of Standards, and the Dominica Hucksters Association. The three key elements required for the success of clusters are innovation, More…

Dubai Internet City Hosts High-Level Delegation From South Korean Province Of Jeju Island

Dubai Internet City (DIC), one of the world's largest managed ICT clusters and a member of TECOM Investments, on 30th December announced it hosted a high-ranking 7 member delegation from the autonomous South Korean province of Jeju Island to discuss collaboration opportunities. Malek Al Malek, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City, received Tae Hwan Kim, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (JSP) and his entourage at the TECOM premises. The delegation included Kyung Taeg Kim, Chairman of Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC); Ha Young Moon, Special Advisor to the Governor for More…

India has over 85,000 sick micro and small enterprises, with UP at 16,280 accounting for highest number of units, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Mahabir Prasad said. "As per the data compiled by the Reserve Bank of India from the scheduled commercial banks, the number of sick MSEs in the country as at the of March 2008 is 85,187," Prasad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. West Bengal is at the second place with 11,660 sick units, of 9.21 lakh units in it has in total. Bihar, which has over six lakh units, 8,137 are sick. There were no sick units in Mizoram, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar, Prasad said. More…

When I look at the current scenario, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are still in technological backwaters compared to advances in science and technology. Despite the fact that technology has changed a lot over the past decade, when we look at how SMEs use technology, there has been only a limited adoption of the various new technologies. It's sad that even as the rate of change in technology has accelerated, the pace of usage of these technologies in businesses at the bottom of the pyramid has not increased dramatically. I think with increasing competition, globalization and uncertainty due to global More…

Public sector undertakings, or PSU, can give more support to micro, small and medium enterprises, or MSMEs, provided the latter continue to scale up their technology to deliver quality products. This was echoed by major buyers of MSME products, including Coal India, SAIL, Garden Reach Ship Builders & Engineers (GRSE), BHEL, Ordinance Factory Board and Haldia Dock Complex, while attending a vendor development programme on Tuesday, organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI). Due to lack of availability of quality products from MSMEs, these PSU buyers have turned to imports. MSMEs can enter More…

Minister of State for Power, Industries and Commerce, Jairam Ramesh, said that the old solution of government intervention is not going to be adequate for the MSME sector. He said this in the keynote address in an event of "Milagrow World SME conference 2008" organized by Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd in New Delhi on Friday. He said, "I think the old solution of government intervention is not going to be adequate for the MSME sector. We need to have completely different hype of public private partnership (PPP), geographically concentrated in few areas which have immense opportunities for expanding More…

Writing in the Ethical Corporation newsletter, Rajesh Chhabara recently opined on the near-term prospects for microfinance in Asia. Despite the trouble in global financial markets, investors continue to put money into Asian microfinance. A $40m fund aimed at financing start-ups in microfinance was launched in October by the India-based Institute for Financial Management & Research Trust, supported by a group of investors including India's Icici Bank. In May, ASA International of Bangladesh, ranked number one on the Forbes list of top 50 microfinance institutions, raised $125m in funding - the largest ever by a microfinance institution More…

The Indian economy continues to remain the second-fastest growing economy in the world, a top economist said. "India's economic fundamentals are quite robust and its economy remains the second-fastest growing one in the world," the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council's Chairman, Suresh Tendulkar, told reporters here. India was not experiencing a recession as other advanced economies and its economy would not be affected to the same extent as some other emerging Asian economies, he said. On MSMEs, Tendulkar said that the present economic slowdown would test the strength of the sector. "Rising interest rates in the More…

Small businesses are the lifeblood of all economies. They employ the majority of workers; they generate growth at local and national scale and often are a major source of innovation and creativity. They therefore play a central role in economic growth in all economies worldwide. In Kenya, SMEs in agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism and services have been identified as a key driver that will help in achieving Vision 2030. The question therefore is what is the Government and the private sector doing to foster the investment, establishment and growth of SMEs? There has been a debate as to whether we need to have a ministry More…

The City of Toronto on 15th December 2008 announced that Mr. Mike Williams will be joining the City of Toronto as the new General Manager of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism. Mr. Williams will begin working at the City on February 2, 2009. The General Manager is a staff position in the City. In the past year, the three divisions of economic development, culture and tourism have been amalgamated and restructured to support the Mayor's Agenda for Prosperity. A new committee of Council has been created - the Economic Development Committee, which is chaired by Councillor Kyle Rae. The Mayor has appointed a new Economic More…

A REVISED ten-year strategic plan will be outlined for the merged ICT and electronics industry body in early 2009 under newly elected president Peter Charlesworth. Mr Charlesworth - general manager of Minelab Electronics and former president of the Electronics Industry Association - said the review process will integrate strategies for both the sectors. "The challenge is to iron out the differences between the two sectors by looking at them as being part of the ``e-technology'' industry,'' Mr Charlesworth said. "E-technology' would encompass electronics, IT and communications and the relevant services industries. "The main focus More…

Event: The micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be given the chance to promote their products. A Prototype Showcase will also be set up to feature various prototype products developed between 1990 to 2008. Expected some 200 MSMEs exhibitors with finished products from the different parts of the country and another 50 to showcase semi-processed products and raw materials.

Organizer: The Bureau of Domestic Trade of the Department of Trade and Industry-Manila

Event: The entrepreneurs to exhibit various industrial products, latest technology, machinery, equipments, tools, semi-finished goods, raw materials, IT, ITES related products and other services which will be useful to the Micro, Small and Medium Industries.The SME Exhibitors will also get an opportunity to launch new products & services and exchange business information, identify potential buyers, sellers and investors. They can also obtain assistance to find out business partners for joint ventures, collaborations, technology transfer, contract manufacturing and other activities.

Participant : Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, Manufacturers, Traders and Dealers, Importers, Exporters, Buyers and Sellers, Buying and Selling Agents , Consultants and Professionals, Chairmen, CEOs and Managers from Corporate, MNC, Banks & Financial Institutions , Executives from Trading, Export Houses, Shipping, Logistics Companies and Officials from Government Dept

Organizer : India International Trade Centre (IITC-INDIA) and Small and Medium Business Development Chamber of India (SME Chamber of India)

Clusterkraft e-Newsletter

(Vol.42)