The Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) under its Policy Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (PIMEU) is working closely with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Solomon Islands on a new Project entitled Supporting Informal Enterprises Transition towards Sustainable Growth and Formalization in the Africa Caribbean and Pacific Regions.
In recognition of the challenges faced by the informal sector and the opportunity that lies in the sector for growth and job creation, the Government is partnering with UNDP, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to implement a 4-year European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (OACPS) Group of States project.
SI Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The project aims to support the creation of a policy, regulatory, and ecosystem environment conducive to formalization and inclusive economic growth in six countries of the African, and Caribbean Pacific regions.
Solomon Islands is the only country in the Pacific to benefit from this important initiative in recognition of the importance to integrate the informal economy sector in the country’s efforts to accelerate national development and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
During the presentation at the OPMC, the UNDP team led by the UNDP Country Manager Ms Grace Kiernan briefed government stakeholders including the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration (MCILI), Mr Riley Mesepitu and the PIMEU team of the OPMC headed by the Policy Secretary Productive Sector, Mr Wilson Karamui on the key components of the project which aims to encourage the following outputs:
- Integrated policy framework for formalization of informal enterprises developed and promoted;
- New financial services developed and promoted and capitalization opportunities for financial intermediaries expanded.
- Capacities of informal sector intermediaries, aggregators and government strengthened, and use of digital technology promoted;
- Sectoral collective action platforms established and operational;
- Regional exchange of knowledge, technology, and resources throughout the ACP countries enhanced.
The OPMC is now in the process of assisting and preparing a cabinet paper to be submitted by MCILI as the key focal point.
The UNDP project is aligned to the Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) government policy on Small and Medium Enterprise Businesses.
The project will start its implementation in September after its official global launch.
Ends///
GCU statement
