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NPC calls for need to address information gap

National Planning Commission (NPC) says there is need to address information gaps for existing strategies and policies.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2019 Seed Malawi Dialogue Forum in Lilongwe on Thursday, NPC senior development planning officer Sipho Billiat said this would help to promote entrepreneurs.

He said many policies and strategies have been developed, but have not been properly disseminated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Agster: Enterpreneurs
need finance

Billiat called for a review of policies and plans that are there to identify gaps to help government and other stakeholders to come up with other policies or amend existing ones to ensure that SMEs are protected.

“This means they [SMEs] cannot scale up because they are competing with big companies. So, it is important for government and SMEs to share knowledge and engage on how they can support each other,” he said.

One of the farmers, Frankie Washoni of Hortnet Food Limited, said farmers are operating in a hostile environment, with low access to finance among other things, as commercial banks often regard them as risky.

Seed Malawi director of operations Rainer Agster said entrepreneurs need both non-financial and financial support.

“By financial support, we are not talking about purely grants but also loan financing with interest rates which are manageable,” he said.

The Seed Malawi National Dialogue Forum 2019 brought together over 100 entrepreneurs, policymakers, financial institutions and business development service providers to celebrate the journey of eco-inclusive enterprises and collaboratively mobilise support for building the capacities of socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable entrepreneurship in Southern Africa.

Seed is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy.

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