INTRODUCTION
The CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and the National Standards Bodies of participating countries, has undertaken a project entitled ‘Promoting Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Competitiveness in the Caribbean through Technical Standards”.
The project is being executed through the CROSQ Secretariat as the central hub and the National Standards Bodies in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as sub-regional hubs.
The main objective of the project is to boost the competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in order to facilitate the exportation of goods and services and the process of integration within the region, the hemisphere and the world. The project will underscore and build awareness of the importance of standardization and conformity assessment among SMEs and other regional stakeholders inclusive of public and private sector strategic partners.
The major benefits to be derived from the project include:
- improved knowledge and awareness of the benefits of standardization in the public and private sectors and specifically among SMEs; and
- increased levels of implementation of technical standards among SMEs
An overview of the project can be found at http://www.crosq.org/smecomp.htm.
In executing one of the components of the project, CROSQ in conjunction with the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS), is partnering with the Caribbean Regional Sustainable Tourism Development Programme (CRSTDP) to host a two-day Regional Conference. The conference is entitled ‘Enhancing Trade Competitiveness of SMEs through Standardization and Conformity Assessment and will be held at the TTBS Auditorium Tunapuna, Trinidad, on July 17-18, 2007. The conference will target SMEs and private and public sector agencies that provide an enabling environment to support SME export competitiveness. The conference is expected to be especially beneficial to those SMEs seeking to gain access to regional and international markets.
SME CONFERENCE UPDATE
The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) in conjunction with the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) hosted a two-day conference on 17th – 18th July 2007 entitled “Enhancing Trade Competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through Standardization and Conformity Assessment” at the TTBS auditorium (Macoya).
The conference was well-attended with a maximum of 111 participants, 78 of whom were SMEs operating in various industries. The conference was able to attract the participation of 35 Regional SMEs, primarily from the Tourism Sector. The conference was rated a success by all stakeholders and TTBS is in the process of planning a series of workshops to train SMEs and technical experts with respect to the requirements of specific standards.
Presentations from Conference Available for Download
View Photos from Conference
Sponsored By
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CTO |
European Commission |
Caribbean Regional
Sustainable Tourism
Development Programme |
