National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc chief executive officer Harold Jiya says the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed bank has set aside K60 billion to support the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
He said this in Lilongwe on Thursday after visiting various small-scale businesses as part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to appreciate and engage with the businesses driving the country’s socio-economic development.
Jiya visited Ziweto Enterprise at Kanengo, a firm that produces animal feed and was given a K240 million loan by NBM Development Bank, a subsidiary of NBM plc, to procure a milling machine.
“One of our core pillars as a financial institution is to ensure that we are actively funding and financing businesses across Malawi to help accelerate national development. That is why we have committed this funding to support SMEs,” he said.
Ziweto Enterprises chief executive officer Victor Mhango thanked NBM for the the financial support.
“When we started, we only had seven shops. Today, we have expanded to 21 shops and employ 51 people nationwide,” he said.
Meanwhile, in commemoration of SME Day on June 27, NBM has rolled out a special initiative to visit and engage small businesses to further strengthen support for the SMEs sector, which contributes about 40 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.
