UK charity keen to help SMEs

British Consultancy Charitable Trust (BCCT), a London-based organisation which assists small and medium enterprises to optimise returns by suggesting cost-effective business models, is keen to work with the West Bengal government.

Paul Pettigrew, director, BCCT, who was in Kolkata recently to discuss the prospective partnership, said during an interactive session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, his trust would like to collaborate with the state government, so that SMEs do not get burdened with the traveling and boarding expenses of the BCCT volunteers.

The state government through a partnership with the trust could bear the expenses, he said.

BCCT inked a similar deal with a trade body in Pakistan, namely, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, whereby it was suppose to give a total of 80 advices to SMEs in the country.

The Pakistan government paid for the expenses of the volunteers. BBCT has competed 72 such assignments in 22 different countries in the last 12 months.

"We are trying to ink a similar deal with the India government, at the state or the Central level," said Pettigrew. However, none of the state governments had shown interest in project.

"We are yet to receive any positive response from the state governments in India, though we are getting some positive vibes from independent organistions," he added.

In Pakistan, the production level of one of the SME's, assisted by the BCCT, improved from 50 per cent to 80 per cent, with a corresponding 15 per cent saving in inputs, he informed.

Along with technical support and appraisal, the trust will oversee health and safety issues in the unit.

"This is a time-tested six-step process based on rule specified by BCCT, providing low operating cost and international accessibility. The system covers the initial client request, followed by monitoring, evaluation and completion of the assignment," he said.

Apart from helping the SMEs, the BCCT is also involved some health and education projects in India. Volunteers of the BCCT are mostly retired servicemen from the UK.

Reg Russell, a professional bankers for 40 years with Barclays, advised handicrafts sector experts in countries like Nepal, Malaysia and India on credit issues.

Similarly, John Roberts, a former ICI employee, undertook a technical audit in fabrics factory in India and introduced new business practices in many of them.