MBS for increased product certification for SMEs
The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) says it wants more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get registered and have their products certified to grow their businesses and contribute to the economy.
MBS regional officer (centre) Richard Kubwalo made the remarks in Lilongwe on Monday on the sidelines of a two-day workshop on Malawi Standards (MS) 21 and MS-19 organised for 75 Central Region based MSMSEs.
He said MBS is implementing reforms aimed at having more small businesses getting their products certified and to achieve the goal, they have subsidised the certification fees and the cost of standards by 50 percent.
Said Kubwalo: “We would like more MSMSEs to have their products certified to ensure they are acceptable by consumers locally and internationally through which they will grow their businesses and contribute significantly to the economy.
“MSMEs account for a majority of businesses in the country; hence, it is important that they should put in place all requirements learnt from the training as it is such requirements that will allow their products get the required certification.”
Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (Smedi) Central Region business training specialist Tapiwa Nsanja said they are working with MBS to ensure more small businesses develop into large-scale investments.
She explained that as more SMEs are operating informally, they are losing out on opportunities that would have grown their businesses and benefit the economy in form of taxes.
In total, MBS has trained about 243 MSMEs nationwide.
There have been concerns that the majority of SMEs lack knowledge on product certification, including cumbersome and expensive processes by MBS; hence, the trainings and 50 percent cut on registration fees.
