GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Paying keen attention to the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on St. Maarten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (Ministry TEATT) Ingrid Arrindell, met with advisors from the Department of Economy, Transportation and Telecommunication (EVT) and representatives of the European Union funded COSME Programme to be presented with a preliminary update of COSME’s Doing Business study.
In her meeting with EVT staff and COMSE representatives Huib Poot and Tamira La Cruz, Minister Arrindell was briefed on the research areas which focused on the existing processes and procedures associated with doing business on St. Maarten.
In particular, the COSME Team has been administering surveys to gain insight into the length of time required to establish a business, procedures associated with importing goods, labor laws, tax administration for small businesses and the steps associated with acquiring property for one’s businesses.
The COSME Team informed the Minister that the final results of their study will shed light on how attractive St. Maarten is as a country for doing business based on the country’s procedures, processing time and fee structure.
Furthermore, the study will also indicate areas for improvement and provide comparisons with other islands in the region.
The COSME Team’s work in St. Maarten will resume in May when the island hosts the COSME Stakeholder and Steering Committee meeting on May 3rd & 4th and the launch of the Bidx Virtual Incubation Platform for MSMEs within the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories which COSME is facilitating.
The European Union-funded COSME Programme was designed to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises throughout the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories. Persons interested in learning more about COSME can visit www.cosmeprogramme.org.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Minister TEATT Ingrid Arrindell (centre), surrounded by EVT intern Leandra Leslie, COSME representative Tamira La Cruz, EVT Policy Advisor Makhicia Brooks and COSME representative Huib Poot.
