Gwengwe delivering his speech at the function
* The Bank is taking care of the needs of the SMEs, which are the engine for growth of any nation
* A country cannot develop if SMEs are sidelined and not supported by both government and the private sector
By Victor Singano Jnr
Malawi’s Minister of Finance, Sosten Gwengwe has commended NBM Development Bank, a subsidiary of National Bank of Malawi (NBM) for showing commitment in playing a vital role of creating a conducive platform empowering small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) grow their businesses.
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Gwengwe made the remarks during the NBM Development Bank’s stakeholders cocktail where the bank also unveiled the ‘Game Changer Documentary’ at an event which took place at Bingu International Conventional Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
The Minister highlighted the important role that the Bank is playing in making sure that it is taking care of the needs of the SMEs, which he described as engine for growth of any nation.
He added that a country cannot develop if SMEs are sidelined and not supported by both government and the private sector, saying for a long time SMEs have been complaining of the lack of start-up capital on the market.
“But it is a story of the past as National Bank of Malawi, through NBM Development Bank is servicing SMEs with such products which other commercial Banks are failing to do.
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“I would like to commend NBM Development Bank for this wonderful initiative which is also inline with the Government’s ‘MW2063 agenda’. SMEs normally have inadequate collateral and this is one of the main obstacles for upscaling of SME businesses.
“As such, we need financial institutions that understand these hurdles and how they can go round them in insuring the that SMEs get the necessary funding for their businesses.
“It is now time that other players should borrow a leaf from what NBM Development Bank is doing,” said Gwengwe, who also urged Malawians to improve the credit culture and pay back loans so that it also benefit others.
NBM Plc Chief Executive Officer, who is also the chairperson the Board of NBM Development Bank Limited, Macfussy Kawawa said they are geared to develop local SMEs by providing them with startup capital as one of creating businesses from scratch and helping to widen the tax base through the creation of new taxpayers.
Macfussy Kawawa
He emphasized that their goal is towards making sure that businesses flourish and create jobs for the nation, adding that NBM Development Bank is an impact institution whose business model entails funding projects that have a development impact on the economy and communities where such businesses operate.
“We believe that SMEs are very important and to continue to contribute positively to sustainable economic growth and employment creation, we should enhance our inclusiveness to SMEs — hence working with them as well as educating them in order to come up with bankable business cases acceptable to the Bank,” he said.
The Game Changer Documentary talks about Malawi’s entrepreneurial revolution with NBM Development Bank being at the centre of it.
