The Maldivian print industry is in decline and less businesses than ever are entering it, says Abdul Sattar, Managing Director of M7 Print.

Director Sattar said this at the ‘M7 Night 2018’ held on Thursday to commemorate the service of its staff and report on the company’s achievements for the year.

Sattar said that while the printing industry has been essential in the past years, efforts to ensure its continuity in the future is yet inadequate.

He called on policy makers as well as other industry operators to work together and ensure their ‘collective survival’, calling on authorities to relieve barriers to acquiring necessary equipment to enter the trade.

Sattar further said that printing is often considered to be an unlucrative endeavor and it is hard or those seeking to enter the industry to acquire any aid.

He said that he himself had struggled to acquire support from local banks and businesses, and only managed to found the company due to ‘help from a generous friend’.

Sattar also said that there are highly skilled designers and layout makers in the Maldives, and that the industry is ‘far from dead’.

M7 Print is one of the most popular printing agencies in the country, and has been given the project – through public tender – to prepare ballots for three national elections.