The Role of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Promoting Inclusive Growth through Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in Liberia

This research paper seeks to articulate how Liberia as a post-conflict nation and a nation visited upon by two global pandemics: Ebola Virus Disease and Covid-19 has demonstrated its resilience and commitment to economic development which has positioned her on the trajectory for enabling a private sector-led development and inclusive growth through medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs) development. As a corollary of the strengthening of the capacity of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other related institutions and working in tandem with its international development partners, Liberia has recorded milestone achievements in its private sector development, especially MSMEs. These achievements encompass the development of a policy framework for MSMEs in Liberia, the provision of grants for MSMEs development with aid from donors, the establishment of the Liberia Business Registry and its imminent digitalization to facilitate doing business in Liberia, the enactment of the Small Business Empowerment Act which requires the government to award 25% of public procurement to SMEs, the creation of Special Economic Free Zones, Liberia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, and the ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. On the flipside, this paper uncovers that access to markets, access to training and access to finance remain the major challenges to the development of MSMEs in Liberia which are the engine for the country’s private sector growth and development. To remediate these constraints, this paper recommends the development of specialized training programs to hone the managerial, technical and financial management capacity of the owners and operators of MSMEs, the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to boost the growth of MSMEs to optimize the delivery of goods and services, the establishment of development finance institutions (DFIs) to offer specialist financing mechanisms for MSMEs, investment in infrastructural development to build more farm-to-market roads across the country, and improve as well as harness agricultural value chains to promote the growth of agricultural MSMEs in Liberia.