(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, in association with the Government of Japan, will be convening a Workshop to Address Priority Constraints Facing Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises in the Caribbean, from June 25-27, 2008, at the Saint Lucian by Rex Resorts.

The Workshop is aimed at continuing the process towards the implementation of the Action Plan that was strategised at the Second Roundtable on Coordinating Mechanisms for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) which was held in October 2006 in Georgetown, Guyana.

A Draft Strategic Plan which emerged out of that Roundtable outlined five priority areas for action that are intended to ultimately secure the growth and development of the SME sector, within the context of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). These priority areas were: funding and financing; policy, legislative and regulatory framework; institutional capacity building; the ultilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT); and, marketing management.

One of the significant features of the Workshop would be a presentation on the need for a Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises’ Bill that would identify critical policy, regulatory and institutional measures to better facilitate the implementation of the supportive activities for SMEs’ operations both nationally and regionally.

Policy makers and representatives of Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises from across the Region will participate in the Workshop.