Standard Bank and Eni Rovuma Basin to boost SME support in Mozambique

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Standard Bank and Eni Rovuma Basin to boost SME support in Mozambique

12:49 CAT | 07 Nov 2018

Photo: A Verdade

Standard Bank and Eni Rovuma Basin signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday to implement a development programme aimed at supporting Mozambican small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups access markets by providing mentoring and business support services.

The Global Entrepreneurship Index of 2017 places Mozambique 123rd in a total of 138 countries, which means that the country has a long way to establish a desirable entrepreneurship framework and provide SMEs the support they need to achieve the desired inclusion, stability and scalability.

As a result of this memorandum, the parties will collaborate in supporting and developing the business environment, including activities to stimulate the local supply chain, skills development programmes and the transfer of knowledge and techniques to ease market access.

Standard Bank’s managing director, Chuma Nwokocha, explained that the memorandum was essentially aimed at promoting inclusive growth by developing an ecosystem that enables SMEs to exploit their potential and seize opportunities from megaprojects.

Through this partnership, “Standard Bank, as a bank established in the country for more than 124 years, will use its experience and ability to help SMEs to grow and access markets”, the managing director said, citing the bank’s Business Incubator as a project that had contributed not only to the development of abilities by small and medium enterprises, but also to the emergence of entrepreneurs, to whom knowledge and tools essential for their easy insertion in the market – including megaprojects – were being transmitted.

The programme will consist of four pillars, namely: Ideation (promoting access to methodologies for conceptualising business ideas and influencing a culture more conducive to entrepreneurship); Incubation (Support to SMEs through mentoring and training, to create and validate new businesses in sectors of national interest, not limited to the Oil and Gas sector); Acceleration (identifying SMEs with growth potential and supporting them in establishing business links to address obstacles or challenges that impede their growth); and Inclusive Growth (ensuring empowerment of women and young people and development of formal trade).

Within a national scope, the programme will focus on the province of Cabo Delgado, specifically the city of Pemba, as a key region for economic development.

Source: A Verdade