SMEDI’s Board of Trustees stimulates staff to increase visibility and ensure more businesses benefit its services

* Visits Mzuzu offices to familiarise themselves with the its facilities and to motivate SMEDI staff

* Staff poised to take on the challenge and ensure that more businesses strives from their services

By Duncan Mlanjira

As a reminder of the critical role Small & Medium Enterprises Development Institute (SMEDI) plays in supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Malawi, the Board of Trustees visited the institution’s offices in Mzuzu on Thursday where they stimulated the staff on the need to increase its visibility.

A statement from SMEDI said the purpose of the visit was for the Board to familiarise themselves with the offices and encourage SMEDI staff to increase its visibility to ensure that more businesses benefit from the services offered by the institution.

SMEDI was established by an Act of Parliament (Cap. 5: 03 of the Laws of Malawi) for the promotion, growth and development of MSMEs and in the execution of its mandate, the institution undertakes several interventions — including the provision of business management training for MSMEs in line with its strategic objective of enterprise development.

The Board of Trustees’ visit began with a tour of SMEDI offices up close and took note of the investment of its facilities. They then engaged staff where they emphasized on the importance of increasing the visibility, stressing that it is vital that more people know about its work and services.

The SMEDI staff were motivated to work together towards achieving the institution’s strategic goals, emphasizing that it is everyone’s responsibility to make the instition a visible and impactful entity in Malawi.

With renewed energy and commitment, the staff pledged that they are poised to take on the challenge and ensure that more businesses strive from their services.

Meanwhile, SMEDI won the Best SME Exhibitor Award at the 33rd Malawi International Trade Fair organized by Confederation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (MCCCI).

SMEDI said the award “is a testament to all of the hard work and dedication that the exhibitors at the SMEDI pavilion put into their craft, and it feels incredible to be recognized in this way. SMEDI is proud of the exhibitors’ hard work and achievement”.

At the Trade Fair, SMEDI promoted women in agricultural and food systems under AmayiHub Programme, which is implemented under the auspices of Triangular Cooperation of the governments of Germany, India and Malawi.

After opening the Trade Fair last week, President Lazarus Chakwera proceeded to open Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) just behind the trade fair grounds, where he implored on the business regulator to ensure speedy certification processes, stressing that this is key in promoting MSMEs.

Chakwera also called for the modification of the product certification system to suit the needs and conditions of small-scale processors and producer, emphasizing that with the new office complex now in full operation, he expects the Bureau to be instrumental in challenges MSMEs are facing to grow their businesses.

“I expect the complex will help fast-track the information dissemination to MSMEs and cooperatives to enable them to involve the Bureau in the early stages of their production for increased success in attaining certification.

“To put it bluntly, Minister, I want the complaints from the private sector players attending this Trade Fair about the slowness of government in issuing certificates to end, because in this digital age, no certificate should require a business to walk physically into any office and no certificate should take more than a few days to secure,” he said.

Chakwera further stressed that he expects the new complex will strengthen collaboration between the MBS and SMEDI in support of MSMEs and making the fees payable favourable.

“Everywhere I go, friends of Malawi who want to help us succeed say that our economy has huge potential, but our problem as a nation is that we take too long to facilitate things for businesses and investors.

“The world is moving at lightning speed into the future and yet we have too many people in this country still moving in slow motion. I don’t want to hear that this is happening here, and I assure you that I will send people regularly to check.

“I don’t want businesses that are working hard to be productive, like the ones whose exhibitions I have seen at this year’s Trade Fair, to be slowed down in their ability to put goods on the local and international market because of slowness in certification procedures,” he said.