Govt ponders FInES extension after impressive performance
The Ministry of Finance has hinted on the possibility of extending the Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling (FInES) project or introducing a similar approach to boost entrepreneurships.
The five-year project seeks to provide financial services to promote entrepreneurship as well as capabilities of small and medium enterprises during the Covid-19 period.
By July, the project had dispersed $58 million (about K101.6 billion) to more than 45 200 enterprises.
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs principal secretary responsible for economic affairs Jacob Mazalale hinted on the possibility of extension after being impressed with some business ventures that he toured in Blantyre on Friday.
Among others, he toured an organic fertiliser manufacturing company, a printing service firm and motor vehicles trailers manufacturing company.
He said: “It is very encouraging to see efforts that the project is making in business and an impact on the wider community as Malawians.
“The government is talking to the development bank… Conversations are taking place and we hope that more projects similar to FInEs will be made available.”
Mazalale added that the government was willing to engage and provide capital to the private sector which has a big role in the country’s economy.
Rural Development Investment Initiative project manager Widson Honde said construction works at the fertiliser manufacturing company were at 60 percent and production would start in November.
The company will use domestic waste, among others, as raw materials with a possibility of producing 60 bags of fertiliser per day.
Hartfield Investments managing director Harrison Longwe said the took a K70 million in 2020 they acquired more advanced printing machines that have doubled output.
FInEs Project manager Ralph Tseka agreed that there is a need for a successor project considering the impact it has.
“These funds were provided to boost the entrepreneurs small-scale businesses from the effects of Covid-19.
“After the effects of Covid-19, what is actually required now is that they are now on a level that they are producing more,” he said.
FinES, which ends in September next year, was a five-year- project implemented by the Reserve Bank of Malawi with funding from the World Bank.
