Monrovia: President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, on Tuesday November 17, 2015, officially opened the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Small Business Administration Flagship 2015 Micro Small and Medium-sided Enterprises (MSME) Conference in Monrovia. The President, who was accompanied by her Cabinet, members of the Legislature and the Judiciary, addressed over five hundred Liberian owned business men and women, business executives, local and international partners, diplomatic corps, youths and a cross-section of people at the Monrovia City Hall. This year’s conference was under the theme “From Vision to Implementation, Buying Liberian, and Building Liberia” with special focus on Youth Innovation forEconomic Empowerment. The keynote speaker for the November 2015 Conference was Liberian entrepreneur, Mr. Mahmud Johnson of J-Palm.

Since its inception in 2013, the SBA MSME Conference has focused on different topics and allowed SMEs to explore partnerships and receiving financing to expand their operations. The conference has facilitated over $1 million dollars in innovation Fund for Entrepreneurs and the Liberian Marketplace. Each year the Conference has had a specific focus.

This year all 50 SMEs that exhibited in the fair received IFC business edge training and a one-year tax clearance to facilitate contracts. This year’s conference also showcased the Innovation Hall where young entrepreneurs’ innovations were showcased with awards for best innovators. In celebration of the passing of the Intellectual Property Law and various treaties, a special concert organized by Blue Links Promotions to pay tribute to Liberian legends Miatta Fahnbulleh, Tecumseh Roberts, Zack and Gebbeh among others took place on November 18th at the Monrovia City Hall Theatre. During the performances, the Wear Your Pride promoting young designers’ use of the Lofa (County) Cloth was exhibited.

The Annual MSME Conference is the flagship conference of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Small Business Administration (SBA) with support from the Government of Japan, in partnership with USAID-FED, the International Finance Corporation, Lone star Cell MTN, Building Markets, IBEX-Liberia, Single Sparks, Business Start-up Center and the Agency for Economic Development and Empowerment (AEDE). Other supporters include Eco-Bank-Liberia, LBDI, the West African Venture Fund, Global Bank Liberia Limited, etc.