By Japonicah Jabu
Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Trade, Patrick Botha has expressed satisfaction with the National Bank of Malawi’s (NBM) 2025 Vision, which aims at supporting, uplifting and celebrating the important role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) throughout the month of June and beyond.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Thursday, Botha lauded the collaborative efforts of the NBM in empowering Malawian entrepreneurs, guided by the theme: ‘Business for MSMEs: Connecting the Entrepreneurs.’
“We still believe that the SMEs can go a long way in improving our economy in job creation,” Botha said.
He emphasized the government’s commitment to promoting local production, noting: “Instead of importing goods that are locally produced, we preserve that forex for other important things that cannot be produced in Malawi.”
“Government through the ministry gazettes restrictions on some imports; precisely, for the very same fact to encourage productions on local production and growth of industries including SMEs,” he added.
Botha pointed out some visible progress in this regard, saying: “Now if you go to big super markets like Chipiku, ShopRite, you will see that the shelves which used to have exported goods now have our products, including fresh vegetables, pea-nut butter and onions, which is a step towards industrialization.”
NBM Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa concurred with Botha, saying as part of their ongoing commitment to empowering Malawian entrepreneurs, they are excited to participate in this year’s MSMEs Day celebrations, guided by the global theme, ‘Business for MSMEs: Connecting the Entrepreneurs.’
“To mark this important occasion, we will be hosting two key initiatives during the month of June. Firstly, SME appreciation visits, where the bank will be conducting weekly visits to 30-50 SME customers across the country; secondly, we will host an SMEs expo market day at the Gateway Mall,” Hiwa disclosed.
She also elaborated on the purpose of the visits: “This will essentially be done to personally appreciate our SME clients for choosing National Bank of Malawi, encourage and support them in their business journey and strengthen long-term relationships with our valued partners.”
NBM provides various facilities to SMEs of different sizes and categories such as the women-owned businesses ‘Amayi Angathe’ facility. Moreover, NBM’s subsidiary, NBM Development Bank, also provides facilities and business knowledge to SMEs across various sectors.
