By Suleman Chitera
NBM Development Bank Limited (NBMDBL), a development finance institution and subsidiary of National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc, has secured a grant of about £900,000 over a period of three years from the Scottish Government through its investment vehicle, The African Lakes Company Limited (ALC).
From the grant, NBMDBL will manage ALC special fund aimed at supporting women-led enterprises over a three-year period.
According to NBMDBL General Manager, Bernard Masi the first tranche of the grant for £265,000 is to be disbursed within the month of October.
“This is a matching grant designed to provide patient capital, including equity to women owned businesses thereby scaling up their business activities. The funding shall be availed to businesses operating in various sectors namely Agribusiness (mechanization and value addition), health, education, ICT, mining, energy and tourism,” he said.
Masi described the grant and partnership as a strong endorsement of the Bank’s impact in supporting entrepreneurs.
“We just don’t provide capital, we create viable SME businesses and provide hope to many entrepreneurs in these turbulent times,” said Masi.
ALC Managing Director, Bobby Anderson confirmed about the funding and expressed excitement to be working with the NBMDBL.
“We expect this new partnership between ALC and NBMDB will grow in the years ahead. Working together will be vital as we will provide debt and equity investment to existing businesses led by women who are seeking access to capital to grow.”
“In this way we hope our joint project, led by the dedicated staff of NBMDBL on the ground rather than by a foreign NGO, will contribute significantly to Malawi’s development goals,” said Anderson.
On the sidelines of the partnership, last weekend NBM plc officials, led by Chief Operating Officer Masauko Katsala had an audience with the Scottish First Minister John Swinney to give a brief on the strides made in supporting SMEs in the country.
Others who attended the meeting included Masi and NBMDBL Chief Operating Officer Esnat Kamudoni
