SMEs invest K500 million under Project Innovations Centre
Over 6,000 small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) under Project Innovations Centre (PIC) have mobilised and invested over K500 million in various projects within a year.
PIC Chief Executive Officer Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira said the organisation is running 10 flagship investment projects, some of which are operational.
The projects include a mega farm in Kasungu District where the firm is producing sunflower, a cooking oil refinery installed at Phalula in Balaka District, a filling station at Kaphatenga along the Nkhotakota Road and a beach along Lake Malawi.
Kachamba said, in January this year, the group opened three hospitals, one in Lilongwe and two in Salima.
“We started in 2019, when we dedicated the whole year to teach one another sound ways of managing a business and how to identify sound investment opportunities. After that, we started mobilising funds for investment and our target was transformative business ideas.
“In 2020, we started putting together funds for investment because we realised that most Malawians are obsessed with small-scale businesses and leave medium to large scale businesses to foreigners. We have invested over K500 million but we are still mobilising funds and establishing businesses; so, the figure will definitely grow,” Ngwira said.
He indicated that lack of trust among Malawians to form partnerships has derailed investment progress.
“Some of the challenges we face is lack of participation in managing these projects among members,” Ngwira added.
He tipped SMEs in the country to plan and implement investment projects religiously for the projects to be sustained.
