Malta Chamber of SMEs successfully holds its yearly general meeting

THE 73rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOCUSED ON THE WORK DONE THROUGHOUT 2021

The Malta Chamber of SMEs on Thursday 28th April 2022 held its 73rd Annual General Meeting.

In his opening address, President Mr Paul Abela said that while 2021 continued to be significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are now recovering and getting back to normality. Mr Abela also said that a new serious crises has since also developed with the conflict in Ukraine and the SME Chamber is also closely working with members and the effects on businesses.

Mr Abela highlighted that throughout this year, the SME Chamber continued to assist and be of support to thousand of businesses and ensuring they have a trusted partner to rely on.

During this AGM, Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo presented the Chamber’s Annual Report for 2021.

Ms Agius Mamo explained several milestones achieved throughout 2021 and said that the Malta Chamber of SMEs has once a year made it impact on businesses this year and highlighted 30 tangible achievements businesses gained thanks to the work the SME Chamber has done. Amongst these are;

  • Aid packages for different sectors affected by the pandemic
  • Extension of Wage supplement and tax deferrals through 2021
  • Improvement of Covid restrictions to help business function and recuperate
  • New round of vouchers
  • Rent subsidy scheme widened to cater for the difficulties in logistics
  • Achieving the biggest incentive within the Malta Enterprise portfolio – Smart and Sustainable Grant Scheme
  • Reducing the delays with the processing of single work permit
  • Facilitating the process of change in employer for TCNs
  • Restarting the acceptance of student visa applications
  • New agreement for Pharmacy Owners
  • Right for a bank account
  • Extending the Recovery and Resilience Funds for the benefit of the private sector

There were among many other achievements for the SME Chamber and its members. Apart from this, the Malta Chamber of SMEs also won two prestigious awards for its support to the business community, one in Malta and one at EU level.

The members of the Malta Chamber of SMEs unanimously approved the organisations’ Annual and Financial reports and commended the SME Chamber President, CEO, Council and the team for the hard work and results achieved.

Covid wage supplement final extension until May 2022

The Wage Supplement Scheme which has been ongoing since March 2020, will be extended until May 2022 and terminated that same month. The Government announced this during a Press Conference addressed by Miriam Dalli, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development and Malta Enterprise CEO Mr Kurt Farrugia.

Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela and CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo participated during this Press Conference.

Over the last 26 months, this scheme’s total investment is more than 720 million Euros, has safeguarded almost 120,000 jobs and has assisted more than 17,000 companies including self-employed.

SME Chamber CEO address access to finance during a conference organised by the Malta Development Bank

The topic of Access to Finance, specifically focusing on the opportunity of Equity Sharing and how to strengthen this alternative in Malta, discussed this morning in a conference as part of an initiative being taken by the Malta Development Bank, with the support of Deloitte

During a panel discussion, SME Chamber CEO Abigail Agius Mamo presented the views of SMEs on the subject. She emphasized that the access to finance ecosystem in Malta, in general, comes with a number of gaps and some of this gap can be filled in by Equity Sharing. Having said this much more awareness and education is needed on the subject as well as a support framework, which includes a number of safeguards so that a higher success rate can be secured for this option.

SME Chamber and HSBC Malta Foundation organises a webinar on sustainable practices with particular focus on the transport and maritime sectors

The Malta Chamber of SMEs and HSBC Malta Foundation organised the 2nd out of a series of 6 webinars entitled Sustainability for Small Businesses.

Today’s webinar focused on the transport and maritime sectors and was delivered by Dr Roberta Lepre from WEAVE CONSULTING with the participation of Ms Jeannette Axisa, Director General at the Transport Foundation. The session was moderated by Mr Glenn Bugeja.
This webinar highlighted the opportunities for SMEs in the transport and maritime sectors pertaining to sustainability with a particular focus on climate change.
This was the second session out of a series of 6 which we will be organising throughout 2022.

Should you wish to join our next session please contact us on .

 

SME Chamber officials meets new Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue

Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo and Head of EU Affairs and Communications Mr Fabian Demicoli met Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue within the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Andy Ellul for an introductory meeting.

During this introductory meeting Ms Agius Mamo mentioned the importance of Social Dialogue and highlighted the key issues for SMEs. Amongst the topics discussed was the role of MCESD, the changing dynamic of the workplace and the impact of EU Directives.

Ministry for Tourism presents the Digital Tourism Roadmap 2030

 Malta Chamber of SMEs Deputy President Mr Philip Fenech and SME Chamber Head of Policy Mr Andrew Aquilina participated in a meeting organised by the Ministry for Tourism Turiżmu during which they were presented the  Digital Tourism Roadmap 2030.
 
The proposed areas of focus are:
 
  • Assisting the Tourism industry to invest in the digital product
  • Use of technology to enable further skilling, reskilling, and upskilling of the Human Resource
  • Enhancing the Digital experience towards personalise itineraries
  • Cross collaboration with stakeholders
  • Developing Research and Innovation in the sector

SME Chamber officials meets new Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds

Malta Chamber of SMEs officials led by SME Chamber President Mr Paul Abela earlier today met Parliamentary Secretary for EU Fund Dr Chris Bonett.

Mr Abela was accompanied by SME Chamber CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo, Head of Policy Mr Andrew Aquilina and Head of EU Affairs and Communications Mr Fabian Demicoli.

During this introductory meeting, the SME Chamber flagged the necessity of EU Funds for SMEs and the importance to simplify access to EU funds.

European Cyber resilience act – Share your views!

The European Commission has initiated an online consultation to assess the state of cyber security in digital products and ancillary services available across the EU, in preparation for a proposal for a Cyber Resilience Act.
 
The proposal aims introduce common cybersecurity rules for manufacturers and vendors of tangible and intangible digital products and ancillary services.
 
Through the online public consultation, the Commission is seeking to gather the views and experience from a variety of stakeholders with respect to cyber security and resilience.
 
For more information on the consultation please go directly to the online consultation.
 
We encourage you to provide your feedback based on your experience working in Malta’s Tech sector.

SME Chamber participates in a webinar on the Impact of Digitalisation on Modalities of Connecting & Disconnecting

 Malta Chamber of SMEs Vice-President Mr Marcel Mizzi earlier today participated in a business webinar organised by the Malta Business Bureau on the Impact of #Digitalisation on Modalities of Connecting & Disconnecting.
 
The speakers discussed issues related to surveillance at the workplace.
 
Mr Mizzi stated that “achievement of a business’s objectives should not depend or require an out of working hours connection”.

Malta Chamber of SMEs
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