Technological development has been the one factor responsible for the enormous increase in production and economic growth of the past few decades in the industrialised world. And today, for a country to hold its own in the global market, it must have a strong technological infrastructure and capabilities in setting up, strengthening, upgrading and managing its technological infrastructure and capabilities.

Yet industrial development and by association, technology, has also been viewed by some with distrust - as the main factor behind environmental degradation, endangered biodiversity and job insecurity. It is true that the environmental impact of industrial activity is growing throughout the world. However, the impact can be minimised through the adoption of environmentally sound technologies, energy efficient technologies, cleaner production technologies and cleaning technologies.

To make a deeper impact through environmentally sound technologies, they need to be targetted at SMES, especially in developing countries. Developing countries must address capacity building with reference to their own level of development through awareness creation at various levels, training of trainers, propagation of environmental technologies through demonstration, and technology management for rural development. Since the economic development process is not gender neutral, capacity building activities aimed at women need to be given special focus. Women lack access not only to economic resources such as land and capital, but also to technology and technological information.  In fact, gender inequality forms a major hurdle to balanced development. Therefore, women entrepreneurs need to be encouraged to use technology as an instrument towards their economic empowerment.

However, several issues impact on the building of capabilities in the area of technology infrastructure. It requires expertise in various areas to see if the technology is compatible with the needs of the company, is environmentally safe, economically feasible and socially acceptable. Acquiring the right technology involves the preparation of business plans, market and feasibility studies, contract negotiations, fund raising and product marketing. APCTT's programmes are focussed at providing assistance to SMEs in developing countries in all these areas.

The author can be contacted at: kris@indiamarkets.com