Kathmandu, February 23:

Experts involved in a half day meeting on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) organised by the South Asian Institute of Management (SAIM) have stressed on resolving the constraints faced by such enterprises.

According to a press statement issued by SAIM today, Prof Dr Bijay K C, dean of SAIM was quoted as saying that SMEs face many constraints in Nepal such as policy ambiguity, cumbersome rules and regulations, unfavourable business climate and lack of access to finance.

SMEs considered to be crucial for poverty alleviation efforts in Nepal and meeting the millenium development goals, have been hampered by the continuous strife and unfavrourable conditions for development efforts.

Members from development agencies, financial institutions, government and non-government institutions, and experts from different sectors also took part at the consultative meeting.

The meeting discussed at length on the development of SMEs in Nepal by identifying potential sectors/sub sectors with potential for business and income growth, business enabling environment policy and regulatory issues and access to finance, says the statement.

During the meeting, a presentation titled ‘Enabling environment for SMEs in Nepal and Identifying/Selecting sub-sectors for SME development’ were made by Kiran Pant and Bhusan Shah, respectively.

Participants shared their views and experiences to identify potential sub-sectors, policy and regulatory issues and financial issues related to SMEs in the country.