President ratifies Small and Medium Enterprises Bill

President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has ratified the Small and Medium Enterprises bill today. The Act has now been published in the Maldives government gazette.

The bill was passed by the parliament on the 10th session of the first term of parliament this year which was held on the 26th of March. The Act governs the policies and principles for regulating small and medium enterprises in the Maldives.

The purposes of the Small and Medium Enterprises Act are to facilitate a suitable environment for small and small-medium enterprises to flourish in the Maldives by way of ensuring that the businesses are allowed viable opportunities to compete locally and internationally, and to facilitate long term investments for these businesses and to expand middle class income earners.

The Act will further facilitate to coordinate government policies on small and medium enterprises with such businesses, to establish mechanisms to monitor their progress, and to bridge the gap between large businesses and small and medium enterprises in terms of management, financial capability, expertise and other such areas.

The Act will also facilitate the collation and analysis of information gathered through research and surveys which will in turn contribute to the establishment of sound government policies, and to establish a central mechanism to register small and medium enterprises that do business in the Maldives.