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Bouresli: Independent body "imperative" to finance small enterprises

Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Planning and Development, Dr. Amani Bouresli
Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Planning and Development, Dr. Amani Bouresli
KUWAIT, Jan 2 (KUNA) -- Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Planning and Development, Dr. Amani Bouresli said on Monday that the establishment of an independent body for financing small projects is "imperative" to achieve a comprehensive economic renaissance in the country.
Bouresli said in a press statement that the Ministry has adopted a draft law for the establishment of small projects, which combines all Kuwaiti efforts in the development of small and medium enterprises initiated by the Law No. 10/1998 that included the establishment of a portfolio with the Industrial Bank of Kuwait to support small enterprises in the country.
She explained that small businesses are considered an axiom that boosted many of the economies of developed countries including the United States whose small projects contribute to nearly half of the gross domestic product (GDP) and contributed to the creation of 50 percent of job opportunities, saying that projects which employ less than 20 people provide 18 percent of the total labor force.
The Minister pointed out that so far there is no single government umbrella to support and finance small projects, so it became necessary and inevitable to come up with a serious government initiative to support this vital sector, indicating that these institutions provide 28,000 jobs.
Bouresli added that the commercial sector, particularly in the areas of services and institutions, constitute about 97 percent of their total number of approximately 33,278 facilities in Kuwait, providing jobs for about 32 percent of the total labor force in this sector.
She pointed to the absence of the overall framework for the development of small enterprises, referring to the issuance of Law No. 10/1998 to set up a portfolio with the Industrial Bank of Kuwait to support and finance craft activity on February 24, 2010, followed by a proposal concerning a small-sized projects that was submitted by the then members of the National Assembly Adel Al-Saraawi and Abdullah Al-Roumi. (end) fnk.tg KUNA 021455 Jan 12NNNN