Investor Relations (IR): The Missing Infrastructure

The SEC–SMEDAN MoU is not just about access to capital – it is about confidence and credibility.
While SEC and SMEDAN are creating the regulatory and institutional bridge, MSMEs still need to build the communication and trust infrastructure that makes investors believe in their story.

That is the domain of Investor Relations (IR).

IR plays a vital role by:

• Translating complex business performance into compelling investment narratives.
• Helping MSMEs design investor-ready materials – decks, reports, disclosures, and governance outlines.
• Creating channels of ongoing engagement with investors – updates, briefings, transparency reports.
• Building the reputational currency needed for MSMEs to list or attract funding in a regulated market.

In essence, the SEC-SMEDAN collaboration has provided the bridge, but IR provides the crossing tools.

Public Relations (PR): The Public Trust Dimension

While IR engages investors, PR engages the broader public, ensuring policy acceptance and ecosystem credibility.
This MoU needs a communication framework that:

• Tells the success stories of MSMEs accessing the capital market.
• Shapes public understanding of capital market instruments beyond elite circles.
• Attracts confidence from stakeholders – banks, cooperatives, angel investors, and the diaspora.
• Creates visibility for the policy itself, helping to sustain momentum and accountability.

Without PR, policy remains paper news; with PR, it becomes public action