Author: SME Chamber

GRTU Deputy
President Philip Fenech has this week attended a half day seminar entitled
"Reversing Decline: Product Regeneration in Malta's Resort Town". Tourism
Minister Karmenu Vella gave a presentation.

The seminar was chaired by MTA CEO
Josef Formosa Gauci and present for the meeting were also other very important
stakeholders such as other high MTA officials, the MEPA Chairman and planning
officials, together with other key players and Local Council Mayors.

During
the seminar those present were shown visuals of the various dilapidated tourist
attractions and potential attractions. Strategy and policies to address these
were discussed at length as well as the direction and strategy that would need
to be taken. Enforcement issues were also discussed.

GRTU is
currently also involved in committees aimed at revitalizing and addressing
issues in Tourism Zones in which Philip Fenech as GRTU Vice-President of the
Tourism and Hospitality Sector and other GRTU Council members and members are
or will be involved to contribute to the development to the different Tourism
Zones.

GRTU President
Paul Abela, Deputy President Philip Fenech and EU Desk Coordinator Abigail
Psaila Mamo have this week attended a conference that provided insight on what
is in the EU pipeline in terms of funds for SMEs.

The
conference touched upon various instruments including Horizon 2020, COSME, the
financial instruments provided through the European Investment Fund such as
JEREMIE, the Malta Enterprise Support Schemes and other support provided
through structural funds.

During
the conference it was emphasized that there is a lot for SMEs but very few know
about the opportunities available. GRTU President Paul Abela urged the
institutions and authorities responsible to invest in reaching out to SMEs. He
said that as GRTU we carry out regular information activities and we intend to
continue this also in collaboration with Malta Enterprise. A problem linked to
this is the perception businesses have on funding which is of being overly
bureaucratic and very difficult to acquire.

We have
however seen a level of improvement both in the way funds are administered and
their ‘SME friendliness' so to say. It will however take a lot of work to
change the initial perception of SMEs

It was very
interesting to hear the testimonials of local entrepreneurs that have grown
from start-ups to strong and well established businesses also thanks to the
help of EU facilitated funding. It does give funding a real perspective and
help SMEs relate to funding.

In his
opening address, Hon. Dr Christian Cardona said, "Businesses need finance to
invest and grow. Through innovation, hard work and resilience our companies can
be more competitive in the EU". Dr Cardona recognized that Malta did not score
very high in the last SBA fact sheet but that the data was based mostly on 2012
findings. He however said that Government has analysed where Malta fared worse
and already started acting on these areas.

The Malta-EU
Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC), together with the Malta Environment
& Planning Authority and the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the
Environment and Climate Change will be organising a consultation session on the
European Commission Communication entitled: A Clean Air Programme for Europe.

COM(2013)
918 tackles the reasons for the widespread non-compliance to the EU's air
quality standards. It also proposes legislation to reduce harmful emissions in
the longer term which contribute to poor air quality and damage the natural
environment.  In addition, it will promote measures which also mitigate
atmospheric warming and climate change.

This
consultation session will be held on Tuesday,
February 11, 2014 at 10 am at the MEUSAC offices, 280, Republic Street,
Valletta. 

Should you be interested kindly
register by sending an email to
by not
later than Monday, February 11, 2014 at noon.

Do you have a brilliant business idea? Are you a newly established entrepreneur? Would you be interested in expanding your company with fresh
ideas?

Then you
need look no further than the Erasmus for Your Entrepreneurs programme
(www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu), a mobility initiative co-financed by the
European Union.

This
programme organized by Malta Enterprise offers new entrepreneurs the
possibility to work for up to six months with an experienced entrepreneur in
another EU country. These exchanges take the form of ‘mentorships' whereby both
the new as well as the host entrepreneur benefit in various ways. Through the
collaboration with experienced entrepreneurs the individuals will benefit from
achieving new and relevant skills about will help them set up their own
business. On the other hand, the experienced host participant would benefit
from fresh perspectives on their own business whilst also getting the
opportunity to cooperate with foreign partners or learn about new markets.

The
entrepreneurs may also decide to extend the collaboration with new
entrepreneurs after the end of the exchange period. In this manner, the
programme stimulates entrepreneurship, competitiveness, internationalization
and growth of start-ups and established SMEs in the EU. It also contributes to
the transfer of know-how and building of management skills essential for the
running of an SME.

Who can
participate?

New
entrepreneurs eligible to participate in the programme are those who firmly
plan to start a business or otherwise have an existing business that is not
older than three years, irrespective of their personal age or the sector in
which they operate.

A host
entrepreneur can participate in the programme if he or she is the owner or
manager of an SME or directly involved in entrepreneurship at SME board level;
has experience running a company for several years; and is willing to act as a
mentor by sharing knowledge and experience with a new entrepreneur from a
different European state.

Malta
Enterprise can guide interested entrepreneurs helping them with the application
process, finding and establishing a successful relationship with a suitable
entrepreneur, as well as answering any questions. Malta Enterprise will also
provide financial support to whom participating in the programme, (partly)
covering travel costs to and from the country of the stay and subsistence costs
during the visit, which may last between one and six months.

In a few
words, what are the benefits of participating in this programme?

Benefits
for new or aspiring entrepreneurs:

Active
participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme offers aspiring
entrepreneurs access to a wide range of benefits to help successfully run or
start a new business:

Benefits for host entrepreneurs:

As a host
entrepreneur participating in the programme, you will benefit from the exchange
by having the opportunity to:

The large
majority of host entrepreneurs enjoyed the experience so much that they decided
to host other new entrepreneurs afterwards!

The programme
information guide can be downloaded from here:

The Commission
is asking Member States for information on any irregularities / trade irritants
that Russia might be imposing on exports from the EU to Russia. The intention
of the Commission is to make a strong case on Russia's non compliance with its
WTO commitments and to raise this issues in bilateral talks with its Russian
counterpart. If so send emails on

Biotechnology
to treat heavy metal pollution in waste water; new 'Aquaponic' systems
combining aquaculture and hydroponics in agricultural production; smarter
management of water distribution networks.

These are just three of 11 new
projects approved for EU research funding, aiming to promote innovative
solutions for water-related challenges. The projects involve 179 partners from
research organisations and private companies (including more than 70 SMEs),
across 19 European countries.

GRTU President
Paul Abela has last week participated in an official Trade Delegation that
accompanied the President of Malta, his Excellency, George Abela to Vienna and
Bratislava.

Presentations
were held at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of
Bratislava, these included presentations by Malta Enterprise and Finance Malta.
Addresses were made by Malta's President George Abela and Austria's President
Heinz Fischer.

Participating
businesses attended a number of networking sessions and the response was that a
good number of contacts were made. Business representatives from Bratislava
were particularly enthusiastic about doing business with Malta and the events
in Bratislava were in fact more successful for Maltese businesses.

GRTU
President met the counterparts representing SMEs in Bratislava and GRTU was
asked to present an MOU to increase cooperation between the two Chambers.

President
Abela hosted a number of activities, including a reception and state dinner to
thank those attending for making the visit such a success.

Members
interested in doing business with these countries should contact GRTU on .

MCAST in
collaboration with Green MT, an Authorised Packaging Waste Compliance Scheme is
launching a comprehensive college-wide initiative that aims to keep 10 tons of
recyclable materials out of the landfill over the coming six months.

The
project includes the provision of large crates which can take different
materials, clear Plastic Bottles, Coloured Plastic Bottles, Paper, and also
crates for used plastic coffee or tea cups in areas where students relax. The
crates will be monitored and emptied by the college staff and will firstly be
situated at the newly built Institute of Applied Science with a view to
extending this project to cover all other Institutes.

The
contents of the crates will be emptied into larger bins located outside the
Institute for easy recovery by the collection vehicle.

The
crates will be located at entrances of academic buildings, including the common
areas, the cafeteria, and student centers. Bins will also be added to common
spaces such as break rooms and printer areas.

"MCAST
will hold a commitment to environmental responsibility, and with this
commitment we can encourage everyone to help out and reduce the College's
environmental footprint," said Ms Alison Gauci, Lecturer at MCAST.
"We'll be working to build a student environmental group and establish
green leaders to make sure the project is successful in the long term. In the
future, we hope to find even more ways to recycle and create a more sustainable
college.''

The
project will run through to the end of the scholastic year but MCAST aims to
monitor monthly recycling trends during the coming years.

The
Park-and-Ride fare will go down to 40c, Transport Malta announced. The fare
includes a shuttle service to and from Valletta and Floriana, to be operated by
Minibus Co-op Services Limited.

Minibuses
will be offering trips every 10 minutes between Valletta Bus Terminus, Floriana
and all zones of the Park-and-Ride, with frequency increasing to every five
minutes at peak times. The shuttle service will run throughout the day from
6am, with a last trip at 9pm, and will be exclusively reserved for
Park-and-Ride clients.

Passengers
will be able to board and get off the shuttles at various designated bus stops
along the route

At
Valletta Terminus, the shuttle will pick up and drop off passengers at a
specially designated bus stop next to Bay 1, which will be identified with the
blue Park-and-Ride sign and reserved for Park-and-Ride users.

An
extended service will operate every half hour after 8.30am to serve St George's
Square.

Floriana
Park-and-Ride currently offers more than 750 parking places in Zones A, B and
D. The parking facilities are open between 6am and 9pm all week. Additional
parking spaces will be made available in the coming weeks.

Customers
are also being offered two premium services: a reserved VIP parking bay for an
annual price of €300 and a private electric mini-cab service to one's
destination and back to the car for €5 each way.

More
information can be obtained from ,
tel: 2122 2000.