Gov’t to provide professional help for SMEs to learn how to run their businesses

The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) has announced the launch of a new program that aims to provide professional support to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so that they can learn how to run their businesses and attract more customers, among other things.

The plan was presented yesterday at a press conference organized by DSEDT and the program partners, including the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center (CPTTM) and the six gaming concessionaires that will sponsor it.

Although the plan is not entirely new and follows similar ones presented in previous years, organizers said that this year, the plan has a special focus on detecting operational problems and providing business owners with solutions.

In the past, the plan was primarily directed at electronizing and modernizing old businesses related to the food and beverage sector, with support mostly focused on the installation of e-payment platforms and other similar tools.

This year’s plan also includes a training session, which the deputy director of DSEDT, Chan Chou Weng, said will last just three hours. Questioned on the topic, he said that the services have been learning from previous editions and adjusting the training sessions to the needs of business owners and managers.

This year, the plan will be divided into two sessions, each with 750 seats. The first session will occur in June, while the second will be held in November.

During the presentation of the plan details, a representative of the CPTTM noted that, besides the training session, business owners would be helped by the deployment of professional staff who will inspect the business’s operations and provide a detailed report on how its owners or managers can improve them, aiming for work efficiency and cost savings.

The officials said one suggestion might be implementing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help business owners manage stocks, captivate customers, and improve the promotion of their goods or services.

Also new is that shops must be registered as Certified Shops by the Consumer Council to apply for this program, which offers up to MOP18,000 for consultancy and equipment.

Questioned about the resources for this program, Chan noted that the DSEDT would contribute some MOP19 million, while the gaming concessionaires would contribute an additional undisclosed sum. The same official remarked that the gaming concessionaires’ share would be larger than the government investment.

At the event, Victoria Kuan, president of the CPTTM, remarked that the organization would be in charge of all the processes, including arrangements for open supplier recruitment, acceptance of applications from enterprises, training courses, and diagnosis of business models.

Applicant companies can appoint one or two people to attend the training, with all the details and submission of documentation to be done via a dedicated page located on the DSEDT official website.