Zambia SMEs court Malawi on markets
Malawian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to find export market opportunities in Zambia for goods in agribusiness, circular economy, renewable energy and education.
This was disclosed on Tuesday in Blantyre at a Zambia-Malawi Trade Mission Business Seminar organised by the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) in collaboration with the Accelerated Growth for SMEs in Zambia (AGS) Programme and the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka and Malawi.
Speaking during the event, MCCCI president Lekani Katandula urged local SMEs to take advantage of and utilise the partnership as new markets would help SMEs grow.
He said: “Suffice it to say, the constraints that businesses, especially, budding enterprises, continue to face in their operations are rather daunting and this has had a negative impact on their growth and also limited their potential to drive the national economies as expected.
“One of the obstacles for small scale businesses that derail their growth or even lead to their actual collapse, is lack of access to reliable markets and capacity, which we believe can be solved through arrangements such the one we are having now.”
Already, local SMEs enjoy duty-free access on some products under the Comesa Simplified Trade Regime, including agricultural products, furniture, stationery and other assorted items.
Published data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), a global data visualisation tool for international trade data, shows that during the last 26 years, Malawi’s exports to Zambia have increased at an annualised rate of 4.65 percent, from $5.4 million (about K6 billion) in 1995 to $17.6 million (about K21 billion) in 2021.
Major export commodities included packing bags, raw plastic sheeting and raw tobacco.
On the other hand, during the the same period, Zambia’s exports to Malawi have increased at 10 percent per year, from $10.4 million (about K12 billion) in 1995 to $124 million (about K146 billion) in 2021.
However, Katandula observed that Malawi could be doing more informal trade, hence the trade values.
On her part, AGS business partnership expert Anna Erkkilä said through the discussions with different SMEs and trade development organisations, they decided to focus the trade mission on the three industry sectors.
“AGS aims to accelerate growth and increase competitiveness of Zambian SMEs as well as to strengthen business partnerships within Zambia, between Finland and Zambia, and regionally. The regional partnerships are what brings us to Malawi, to look for opportunities,” she said.
Ministry of Trade and Industry Principal Secretary responsible for micro, small and medium enterprises Francis Zhuwao sad that government will help provide an enabling environment for the growth of the trade partnership.
