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Malta Chamber of SMEs wins European Civil Solidarity Prize
The Malta Chamber of SMEs has won the Civil Solidarity Prize by the European Parliament’s European Economic and Social Committee. Why? Well, for its support of small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic! According to the SME Chamber, its initiative was tailor-made for the pandemic, and proved “effective in filling the gap in support that businesses desperately needed.” On a social level, business owners were looking for guidance and social partners. The Chamber said it had a responsibility to fill out that role.
Therefore, business owners turned to the Chamber for assistance on eligibility and applications for support schemes, as well as constructive dialogue on how to come out of the crisis stronger.
The platform enabled members to share teir experiences and look positively to the future. Over 100 people took part in the tailored webinars on topics including cash flow, mental resilience, business re-engineering and online fraud.
“By adapting our activity to cover all areas of business impacted by COVID-19, as communicated by our stakeholders, and by addressing the so called COVID sore points, our organisation has established itself as the central point of support, whether it is mental health, economic support or community effort,” said Abigail Mamo, SME Chamber CEO.
The EESC, the advisory body that represents Europe’s civil society on an EU level, selected the Malta Chamber of SMEs as the best Maltese candidate for the prize. It said that its entry stood as a shining example of remarkable solidarity during the crisis. Other local candidates who competed for the EESC prize also submitted high-quality projects, including those run by Caritas and Inspirasia Foundation, like Malta Together.
The Maltese Chamber was among the 23 projects from the EU and the UK, which have received the award for their outstanding contribution to fighting COVID-19 and its consequences.
