SMEs vital for development—Smedi

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in addressing rural and urban poverty, chief executive officer (CEO) of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (Smedi) Charles Kazembe has said.

According to 2012 SME survey, there are at least one million SMEs in Malawi employing more than one million people.

Kazembe, speaking on Wednesday at a press conference in Lilongwe aimed at sensitising the media on the roles of Smedi in the country, said SMEs must be supported.

He said: “SMEs are vital, if you look at wealth creation or job creation, two thirds of the people that are employed are from SMEs, not big organisations.”

Kazembe said if you want citizens to participate in the economic activities, they should run small businesses.

“Malawi needs fertiliser, we are importing fertiliser, you mean our graduates cannot come up with a formula of producing local fertiliser?” he quizzed. n