K1 billion has been set aside for small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to access and establish or boost existing businesses in 2020, courtesy of the Management consultancy and business development firm, Accesserator.

Outlining the terms, Accesserator Country Director, Patrick Namakhoma, said upon the firm would own 40% shares in any business of the SMEs choice. The firm, then, will have to sell back the shares to the partner within five years.

Accesserator has been operational in the country since 2017 and  has worked with 14 businesses disbursing over K200 million. “In the process, however, we have more than enough funds to work with as many entrepreneurs as possible,” said Nankhoma.

Last year, SMEs expressed worry over lack of support from government and individuals towards the growth of their enterprises. The SMEs made the complaints known at the recent SMEs Expo.

“Though the Buy Malawi Strategy promotes consumption of local products, both the government and individual Malawians prefer imported goods.” said one of the small scale traders. Understanding the complaints, the President for the Malawi Confederation Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) remarked that the expo was actually meant to alleviate the constraints faced by the SMEs.

“The expo is a platform that allows SMEs to be visible and mainly interface. It also plays in with our new strategy to include SMEs as a way of promoting the sector,” MCCCI President Prince Kapondamgaga added.