00:00Chamber Chief Executive Officer Vashti Gayadeen says many businesses have been forced to close down due to the challenges in accessing foreign exchange.
00:11She says there are systemic issues and policy gaps that need to be addressed.
00:16You cannot solve a challenge until you know what you are dealing with so that you can find the proper corrective action.
00:27Hence the reason why we know we have been speaking about economic diversification for more than 50 years.
00:35So now we need to get it right.
00:38Again, let's identify those sectors.
00:42So it's not just a two-pronged approach.
00:45We need to address a number of issues in terms of how do we address the food import bill.
00:54She also suggests that more small and medium enterprises need to integrate their operations with the digital world.
01:02We have grown accustomed to buying online.
01:06There's a need for our SMEs to go online, digitalize their businesses so that you can order online, you know what exactly you are purchasing.
01:17So we are dealing, we are working, we are operating in a global system and these are some of the things that are known for us.
01:28Gayadeen tells us the Chamber is having an SME conference with around 50 to 80 firms and plans on working with those companies to fix the economic hardships.
01:40She says the forex shortage remains a difficult issue to navigate.
01:45But there are ways to remedy the situation.
01:48You're impacted when you want to travel.
01:51Yes.
01:52So it's all different levels.
01:54If you have children who are studying abroad, you are impacted.
01:58We have our work cut out for us.
02:01We cannot achieve this on our own.
02:04We need private sector.
02:06We need government.
02:07We need the academic sector.
02:12We can all find, we have enough brain power in the country to bring, to find the right solutions to these problems.
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