Pretoria: Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe is leading a technical mission to India to observe progress made by the Indian government on the development of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME).

“South Africa and India are both developing countries confronted by similar economic development challenges. However, the latest developments have indicated that India has progressed impressively in the area of informal business development and it is in relation to these that we are undertaking this visit,” Thabethe said on Sunday.

The visit, which will also observe the connectivity of rural economies to the mainstream economic activity in India, will conclude on 30 August.

The cities of Kerala, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi will be visited.

During the deputy minister’s visit, where she is accompanied by senior departmental officials and its agencies, Indian institutions will present solutions for South African SMMEs on key challenges such as access to finance, technology and market development.

“The officials will be part of the team that will be providing technical support in the benchmarking exercise and to acquire best practices from the various Indian scenarios presented and to learn from the successful initiatives,” said the department.

In March, Thabethe led a business delegation to India on an Investment and Trade Initiative, whose aim was to create market penetration for South African value-added products and services in India and to promote South Africa as a trade and investment destination.