In the European Union region, small enterprises are defined as those having 50 workers and an activity volume of 10 million Euros, while medium ones are those with 250 workers and an annual activity volume of 50 million Euros. In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund adopts the criterion of the annual sales for defining small and medium enterprises whose annual sales do not exceed Rls 20 million for financing purposes according to “Kafallah” program. The World Bank has distributed a questionnaire to commercial banks to determine a definition for small and medium enterprises. The result of the questionnaire has showed that there is difference in banks’ definitions. However, it may be concluded that small enterprises are those with annual sales ranging from Rls 100 thousand to Rls 5 million and workers from 2 to 49. Medium enterprises are those with annual sales from Rls 5 million to 50 million and workers from 50 to 200. Dear audience, SMEs are characterized by many features including, simplicity of their establishment due to the low value of the capital needed for their foundation and operation, simplicity of their establishment procedures, and low cost of their establishment and administration because of the simplicity of their administrative structure. Moreover, SMEs are featured by the independent management by their owners who seek as much success as possible.
The Bank has high 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  expectations for the association to play a key educational role to promote greater industry understanding on regulatory compliance and the latest industry trends, through holistic education and training program such as requirements under the relevant laws and best practices, risk management and consumer protection. Properly structured, the training and development program would result in higher professional standards of conduct and should strengthened safeguards against possible abuses and contravention of the law. Thirdly, as the collective voice of the industry, the association will provide the bridge for constructive engagement between the Bank and the industry. Through regular engagement, the association can play an effective facilitative role in addressing issues concerning developments in the industry, by providing meaningful feedback and input to the Bank or other relevant authorities. We have found over the years that industry associations can add tremendous value in consolidating fragmented views of the industry on important issues and could assist in formulating public policy. There are many benchmarks that the association can draw on, both in Malaysia and globally, in organising itself as an effective association. But of paramount, the players must be united in supporting the Association. Last but not least, the association is expected to undertake an active role in educating consumers on the services that the industry provides and in addressing consumer issues and complaints.