most oecd economies. in the services sector, small firms provide the vast majority of jobs. during the 1990s, small firms were responsible for up to three quarters of employment growth in the united states, and businesses with fewer than 20 employees are now generating up to one - half of the jobs in the country. in korea, national statistics indicate that smmes increased their share of manufacturing employment from 63. 5 per cent in 1991 to 74 per cent in 2000. in australia, statistics show that the share of small business in total employment has been growing at about 3. 1 per cent since the early 1980s. smmes have tagged on to the globalization trail. although initially most smmes focused on local markets, the trend has changed in the past couple of years. smmes now account for between a quarter and two - fifths of the worldwide manufactured exports. in korea, smmes account for roughly 40 per cent of manufacturing exports. in europe, 20 per cent of smmes are engaged in exports. it is generally accepted that smmes even have a greater role to play in developing economies especially when it comes to employment generation and output growth. preliminary estimates for developing economies in south - east asia show that smmes provide employment to over 80 per cent of the labour force. they also contribute more than 50 per cent to gdp, meeting the demands of local and regional markets. smmes also make a substantial contribution towards export earnings through direct and indirect exports. also significant is the fact that the smme sector provides both rural and urban women an opportunity to utilize their vocational skills while staying within their residential premises. in urban areas, most female entrepreneurs have introduced product lines whose uniqueness has created a strong demand in the market place. today, most big industrial establishments depend on smmes for their value addition. it is on record in most emerging markets that the fastest growing export industries ( cotton weaving, textiles, surgical instruments, carpets and footwear etc ) have been dominated by smmes. thus, smmes have played very significant roles in reducing the poverty levels in many developing countries. it is no surprise therefore that as countries prepare their poverty reduction strategy papers ( prsp ), emphasis has been placed on pro - poor growth led by the private sector especially through smmes. sectors such as agriculture, services, manufacturing with heavy content of labour - intensive activities have received much support by programme implementers because of their potential for reducing poverty. given this increasingly important role of smmes in both developing and developed economies,

ipumbu shiimi : namibia ’ s financial sector strategy – progress made so far and the way forward statement by mr ipumbu shiimi, governor of the bank of namibia, at the official opening of the fides branch in katutura, windhoek, 24 october 2013. * * * director of ceremonies your excellency the ambassador of the federal republic of germany – mr onno huickmann chairman of the board of fides bank namibia – mr. tom newton ceo of fides bank namibia, mr. michel arnoult managing director of hollard namibia, mr. justice hausiku captains of the industry members of the media distinguished ladies and gentlemen a very good morning to you all! 1. i am delighted to join you this morning at the official opening of the fides, katutura branch and the launch of the dream saver. i would like to start my remarks with a quote from clen sunter, author of books and a renowned business personality. he said : “ poor people are poor because they are denied the opportunity to make money for themselves ”. 2. i believe fides with its products such as the dream saver is creating opportunities for the poor to make money for themselves. i would therefore like to commend you, mr. arnoult and your team for making this product a reality, which allows low income earners to save, insure themselves and to achieve a higher living standard. this brings us closer to achieving the objective of the 10 year namibia financial sector strategy ( nfss ) launched in august 2012 by the honorable minister of finance. in this regard, allow me to share with you why namibia crafted a financial sector strategy, the progress we have made so far and the way forward. 3. why a financial sector strategy? the aim of this strategy is to reform namibia ’ s financial sector to ensure that namibia will have an effective, efficient, stable, competitive, resilient and inclusive financial sector by 2021. as can be noted, one of the critical components of this strategy is to create an inclusive financial sector, accessible to the majority of the people of namibia. this will be achieved through targeted products and services as well as having effective institutions in place that will provide sufficient support to users of financial services. 4. director of ceremony, the next logical question that follows is what progress are we making in implementing the financial sector strategy to achieve financial inclusion? the good news is that we are making