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IFC and Maldives Chamber to Grow Local Craft Industry, Enhance Incomes of Small Entrepreneurs
In New Delhi:
Minakshi Seth
Phone. +91 11 4111 1000
E-mail: mseth@ifc.org
Male, November 6, 2007 — IFC, a
member of the World Bank Group, and the Women Entrepreneurs Council, operating
under the aegis of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
have partnered to develop linkages between the tourism industry and local
small and medium businesses that focus on the handicraft industry.
A memorandum of understanding and cooperation
agreement between IFC Advisory Services in the region – the SouthAsia
Enterprise Development Facility – and the Women Entrepreneurs Council
to start operations on this project was signed as part of IFC’s initiative
to improve the country’s business environment and enhance the capacity
of its small and medium enterprises. IFC and the council will share project
costs.
Shaira Saleem, Chairperson of the Women
Entrepreneurs Council, explained, “Handicraft is an ideal income-generating
activity for people from the islands. This is a priority area for us. We
are pleased that IFC has recognized the importance of linking the two sectors
and decided to support the project.”
Gilles Galludec, IFC Country Manager
for Sri Lanka and Maldives, who signed the agreement, said, “The overall
objective of the program is to build linkages between the tourism industry
and local communities. We hope that this initiative is the first of many
such activities going forward.” Holiday resorts in Maldives will have
the ability to build sustainable relationships with local communities and
businesses and offer resorts’ guests a chance to experience the ‘Maldivian
way of life’, he added.
Tourism is a key sector for the Maldivian
economy, and handicrafts have a ready market. Currently, the country’s
‘one island, one resort’ model limits interaction between the resorts
and the rest of the economy. This has led to very little interaction between
tourists and local culture.
IFC will support the handicraft industry,
providing workers with a chance to earn appropriate and justified income
for their work. This activity is part of a wider linkage program to be
carried out in the country’s tourism sector. IFC is also looking into
building agricultural linkages between resorts and nearby communities.
The council’s ‘Blending Handicrafts
and Tourism’ initiative will help craft workers develop viable business
opportunities and build linkages between holiday resorts and local communities
and businesses. It will also broaden awareness about Maldivian culture
and crafts. With as many as 90 per cent of handicrafts sold in Maldives
imported from other cheaper sources today, the program aims to promote
the authenticity of local crafts with the help of linkages between tourism
and handicraft industries.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing
private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international
financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services
to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that poor people have the
opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed
$8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through loan participations
and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries.
IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information,
visit www.ifc.org.
About IFC SouthAsia Enterprise Development
Facility
IFC-SEDF is a multidonor funded facility
managed and operated by IFC. It is one of 11 regional programs managed
by IFC worldwide. IFC-SEDF is funded by IFC, the governments of the Netherlands
and Norway, the European Commission, DFID (United Kingdom), CIDA (Canada),
and the Asian Development Bank. Set up to promote the growth of SMEs in
the region, it facilitates increased access to finance and provides quality
business development services to projects in Bangladesh, Bhutan, northeast
India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
IFC-SEDF works to create a business
enabling environment that is supportive of SMEs. It also assists in the
value addition to firms through sector development, organization-specific
advisory services, capacity building programs, training, and research.
The ultimate goal is to help create market opportunities for SMEs, promoting
economic growth and private sector development in the region.
In Sri Lanka and Maldives, the facility
is jointly funded by IFC and the governments of the Netherlands and Norway.
About Women Entrepreneurs Council
The Women Entrepreneurs Council of the
Maldives was formed in April 2004, with 44 members. It was established
as a focal point to concentrate efforts and encourage, support, and empower
women to achieve financial independence. The council focuses on creating
and enhancing a commercial climate in the country and beyond its borders
that is conducive to developing women-owned businesses. An important
aspect of its work includes achieving the appropriate social and regulatory
framework for developing these entrepreneurs; organizing national and local
initiatives such as access to support schemes, counseling, and guidance;
and providing access to physical resources and markets.
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