SMEs to benefit from Smedi, Smea MoU
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are expected to reap benefits from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that two organisations, Smedi and Smea, have entered to, among others, help in capacity building and sourcing of business finance.
Small and Medium Enterprise Association (Smea) is a newly-formed group of small local business entrepreneurs whereas Small and Medium Enterprise Development Institute (Smedi) is a government entity that came into being after the merger of the Malawi Entrepreneurs Development Institute (Medi), the Development of Malawian Traders Trust (Demat) and the Small Enterprise Development Organisation of Malawi (Sedom) to oversee the operations of SMEs.
“In terms of partnerships, Smedi will help Smea to form partnerships with other organisations whose objectives hinge on SMEs development and Smea shall as well benefit from existing partnerships between Smedi and other organisations.
“Where possible, Smedi shall help Smea identify sources of business capital for its members and such capital may be in the form of grants, low interest loans, group financial assistance and Smea shall endeavour to live by and safeguard such agreements,” Smea president James Chiutsi told Business News this week
Explaining the MoU, Chiutsi said the two entities will respect each other as separate legal entities with separate constitutions.
Smea will also benefit from Smedi by way of business identification, opportunities and infrastructure free of charge or at a minimal price for the purposes of training and for conferences.
In the MoU, whose copy Business News has seen, the two entities agreed that both parties will “accurately publicise the objective of the other”.
Smedi will also help SMEs to register with Smea which will in turn compile a comprehensive membership list, which shall be periodically updated, to provide to Smedi.
On capacity building and skills development, Smea will identify training needs within its membership and management and Smedi will take up the role facilitating such trainings.
Smedi has also undertaken to help Smea with expertise in holding business events such as trade fairs, dinners and luncheons and business forums to raise their profile.
Smear is complementing efforts by other existing SMEs such as Economic Empowerment Action Group (Eeag) and Indigenous Businesses Association of Malawi (Ibama) but differ in terms of emphasis and ways to achieve their goals.
Trade experts say SMEs have the potential of turning around Malawi’s economy within the next 10 years, stressing that there are some countries endowed with less natural resources than Malawi, but have managed to leap-frog into the fold of the so-called developed world.
Smea intends to borrow a leaf from those countries and make Malawi a regional economic power house by harnessing the “sleeping potential” lying idle in SMEs.
Meanwhile, Smea is engaging government to ensure provision of affordable operating premises or industrial estates for SMEs filled with required amenities for businesses to thrive.
SMEs have over the year been asking government to implement deliberate policies aimed at developing the sector on issues such as tax levies for start-ups and helping them to form joint ventures to win large government contracts.
