‘Lack of capital stifle growth of women entrepreneurs’

National Association of Business Women (Nabw) executive director Mary Malunga says lack of access to business capital, high interest rates and lack of steady market are some of the obstacles stifling the growth of women entrepreneurs in Malawi.

Malunga said this in Lilongwe on Thursday during the commemoration of the Month of Women Entrepreneur (Mowe) celebrations.

Said Malunga : “Even though women entrepreneurship has made significant development in Malawi, obstacles still remain. These include lack of access to business capital, high interest rates, high taxation, poor access to business training, lack of steady markets and time saving technologies to enable women to grow and expand their businesses.”

She said many women entrepreneurs are active participants in husband and wife firms; hence, the need for government to provide a conducive environment for women so that their businesses can grow.

Principal secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Nebert Nyirenda, acknowledged the problems women face in running their businesses.

“We are aware of the problems that the SMEs [small and medium enterprises] face and currently we are working hard to finalise the instruments that will be governing them so that they can get better rewards in their businesses,” said Nyirenda.

He said through the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre and the Small and Medium Scale Development Trust, entrepreneurs will be trained to value-add their products to fetch more money on the market.