FInES Project disburses K88bn to 43 000 MSMEs
World Bank-funded Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling (FInES) Project has disbursed $51.9 million (about K88 billion) to 43 887 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
Speaking in an interview after presiding over the graduation of MSMEs who have completed a 12-week Personal Initiative Training in readiness for access to the project’s funding, FInES project manager Ralph Tseka said it was pleasing to note that most of the beneficiaries of the project are women.
“So far we have disbursed loans to about 43 000 MSMEs. Out of these about 30 000 are women, about 8 000 are the youth and about 5 000 are men,” he said.
Tseka said by providing reasonable financing to MSMEs, the project seeks to boost businesses, create employment and increase incomes for the whole economy.
“MSMEs are crucial in the economy. Let me give an example of Kenya where MSMEs contribute 55 percent to the GDP. Here in Malawi we would also like to give a chance to youth who have completed their studies to venture into business by giving them financial support,” he said.
Tseka said the training is one way of ensuring that people know what to do with the money they will get under the project.
He said the project has achieved its three main objectives of providing reasonable capital at lower interest rates, training entrepreneurs in developing business acumen and creating an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive.
Speaking in an interview after the training, one of the trainees Susan Chatha said the training has been beneficial to her.
“This training was different from other trainings that I have attended before. This training was stimulating us to think about new things that we can do in our businesses,” she said.
FInES is a $86 million (about K146 billion) five-year Malawi Government Project that the Reserve Bank of Malawi is implementing with funding from the World Bank. Currently 1 115 entrepreneurs have been enrolled in the training.
