Ministry moves to develop small businesses database
Ministry of Trade and Industry says it is developing the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) database to create a platform for business information on various fronts.
The ministry’s director of SMEs, cooperatives and value-addition Limbikani Kachiwaya said such information will include markets as well as credit facilities being offered by financial institutions.
He said this on Thursday in Mzuzu on the sidelines of a workshop for district trade and agribusiness officers on the $86 million (about K87.2 billion) Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Scaling (FInES) project.
Said Kachiwaya: “Uunder the database, there is a portal that financial institutions will be using to feed information so that SMEs can know what sort of credit facility they are offering.
“We are also looking at SMEs having access to how they can register their businesses.”
He said once SMEs access resources, they should be in a position to manage them, repay loans and grow from micro to medium-scale and beyond.
“If that growth happens, we will be able to deliver on the industrialisation pillar as outlined in Malawi 2063, and with time, we will be able to address the government agenda on job creation,” said Kachiwaya.
FInES business development specialist Richard Zidana said through the project, SMEs have the chance to obtain loans at 11 percent interest and grow their businesses.
He said an SME can obtain up to $250 000 (about K255 million), depending on the business case.
Said Zidana: “This is a challenge to SMEs because the resources are enough and we think they can make a difference.
“Being a country struggling with imports, we would encourage those that go into import substitution or export production to maximise this opportunity.”
Team leader at IBF Grey van der Hoff, whose organisation is implementing the project, said they have, so far, reached out to 1 800 SMEs and hope that they will reach all the targeted 3 500 SMEs by the end of June this year.
“Based on SMEs development and capacity building projects that we have done in other African countries, many of the challenges are the same such as access to finance, markets, business and management skills. This is what we will be addressing in Malawi,” he said.
The $86 million project under International Development Association of the World Bank, seeks to increase access to financial services and promote the entrepreneurship and growth of small-scale businesses in the country.
