Indonesia Chosen to Host Swiss-Funded Score Project

Jakarta, Indonesia (News Today) - Indonesia has been selected to host a Swiss-funded project designed to improve the quality and productivity of small- and medium-scale enterprises and reduce their operations’ impact on the environment. Dubbed Sustainable Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE), the project also aims to enhance collaboration and communication between employers and employees, the head of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Jig Schneider, said in a press statement on Friday.

Schneider said Indonesia was chosen to host the project as the country had many small- and medium-scale enterprises, most of which needed programs to improve their productivity and competitiveness at national and international levels. Most of the businesses were very susceptible to global upheavals, he said.

He said the small- and medium-scale enterprises had found it hard to maintain their businesses because of the global financial crisis and new free-trade agreements. Now that many people were engaged in small and medium businesses, sustainable economic growth needed to support effective poverty eradication rested with competitive small and medium businesses, he said.

In many countries, including Indonesia, small and medium businesses served as the engine of economic growth but they faced various challenges, Peter Van Rooij, officer-in-charge of ILO’s office in Jakarta, said. The project is funded by the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in association with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and supported by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the Indonesian Businessmen’s Association (APINDO) and the Astra Foundation.

Source : kompas

Posted in: