Smedi vows to improve livelihoods of SMEs

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (Smedi) has reiterated its efforts of improving the welfare of small-scale businesses through special skills in business management, credit management and financial records keeping.

This was revealed during the graduation ceremony of participants in the training of trainers (ToT) meeting held in Kasungu.

According to the director of business training coordination at Smedi, Edwin Mguwata, the extension workers were drawn from Ntchisi and Mzimba had undergo two weeks of intensive training in financial management, credit management and entrepreneurship.

“Our main role is to provide advisory services in entrepreneurship and through such an intensive two weeks ToT meeting, we hope that the participants would make a greater change to their respective communities.

“These small entrepreneurs can boost businesses if they gain more skills through such trainings. They matter a lot also to the continued development of rural growth centres through businesses,” explained Mguwata.

He said the organisation will continue helping all Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to have their products certified by the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) and also assist in registration of business through the registrar general.

The institution hinted that gaps in financial records management prompted them to train the extension workers who are also expected to train their communities, thereby improving the livelihoods of more small-scale business people.

Mguwata added, “Local Development Fund (LDF), funded the whole programme and it is our hope that the participants would put into practice every knowledge imparted to them during the intensive two weeks ToT training.”

Malomo in Ntchisi is designated as a rural growth centres.