By Dean Chisambo
Zantchito project has committed to build database for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) and Business Development Service (BDS) which will help the SMEs to get information easily and lead some organisations to find information about them.
Speaking during the SMEs and Business Development Service(BDS) workshop on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Umodzi Holdings Managing Director Tionge Kaonga said the SMEs are very important because they create job, help in generating revenue for the government as well as improving trade through producing high quality product which can be sold outside the country.
Kaonga highlighted that the database will also help them to understand where the SMEs are, their value chains and the problems that they are facing which will be very easily to target or reach them.
He said:” for a long period of time we have seen a number of people who are claiming to be consultants supporting the SMEs and in some cases the quality of services that they have been provided to SMEs have been very poor below standard.
“So the ministry of trade and Industry there is department of SMEs which they have been a need to seal a gap inorder to try to improve service provision so that we can create vibrant SMEs in Malawi which can be able to compete at regional and global level.”
In his remarks,Small and Medium Enterprise Development Institute (SMEDI) Senior Marketing business development Officer Alinafe Mpoka said the absence of the database has affected the SMEs because sometimes they were not assisted to the government tenders because they were not not registered.
He added that the database will going to make all the information about the SMEs to be in one package which enables the organisation to click a button in order to know all the information of unreached SMEs and the database will be credible saying everyone is going to benefit.
The Zantchito skills for job programme which aims to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Malawi is funded by European Union and is being implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through COPA.
