Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) has reiterated the need for support towards development and growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), saying they play a critical role in job creation and national economic development.
MBS acting Director General Rex Moyo said as SMEs account for a greater proportion of businesses in the country, empowering them entails propelling growth of the private sector.
He was speaking when opening a training session on certification process and requirement which attracted SMEs based in the Southern Region. Moyo said the training sessions would assist the SMEs achieve certification in the long run, which would make their products competitive on the local and international markets.
Moyo said the MBS certification has always been perceived as expensive and rigorous. As such, the MBS and the Small and Medium Development Institute (Smedi) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December 2020 in order to build the capacity of SMEs by enhancing the knowledge and certification gap.
“A continuous thirst for knowledge is a key element in building a growing, thriving business. This can give you an advantage, which is particularly important in today’s competitive market which will result in increased income,” Moyo said.
During the opening of this year’s MS21 and MS19 trainings, Moyo explained that apart from offering free training sessions to the SME’s, the MoU will see MBS reducing the initial certification fee to the business owners by half for the SMEs.
Smedi Chief Executive Officer Rodrick Chataika encouraged the participants to take the training seriously and use this platform to get right information as regards to the activities of the MBS.
He asked MBS and other stakeholders to formulate and implement policies that may encourage SMEs’ penetration into the global market, saying most SMEs fail to enter the formal market because they do not meet the minimum requirements stipulated in relevant mandatory Malawi Standards.
“There is a clear need to develop rapid and sustainable economic policies if Malawi is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said. One of the participants Rhoda Maluwa Makalani of M&E Honey said SMEs have potential to contribute substantially in the creating jobs.
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