President Chakwera continues to demonstrated his continued commitment to touching base with Malawians at different levels to appreciate first-hand information characterizing concerns that require his administration’s attention and intervention.
Continuing his work tour for the southern region, President Chakwera had today spent a diary meeting different groups representing diverse communities.
After meeting religious leaders’ community, the President went into another session where he had audience with a contingence of small-scale business operators in Blantyre and surrounding areas.
These included street and market vendors, minibus operators as well as car dealers from Blantyre among others.
The meeting, among others, offered small-scale business players a platform to explore business opportunities, desired policy interventions as well as financing opportunities.
Speaking during the session with the business community, His Excellency the State President expressed that his administration will stay on track in implementing business-friendly policies that are aimed at building the capacity of small scale businesses in the country.
The business community representatives, who were over 600 in number, were drawn from various city markets including Blantyre Main, Zingwangwa, Ndirande, Chirimba , Mbayani, Limbe, Chemusa, Kachere, Makhetha, Machinjiri, Chilobwe, Chimwankhunda, Ngumbe, Chilomoni, Lunzu, Chadzunda and Bangwe.
The gathering comprised among others, car dealers, tailors, minibuses and call boys, timber traders as well as consumable and non-consumable goods merchants.
All the groups were accorded an opportunity to present to the Malawi leader pertinent issues affecting their various trades.
Among some of the key interventions the Chakwera administration has brought forward is the National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef) which has so far disbursed over K86 billion to about 158,000 businesses.
Speaking earlier, a representative from NEEF assured the vendors that once they follow all due processes, there is enough capital to drive growth of small businesses.
