By Alpha Abu
In a bid to improve the capacity of owners of Small and Medium businesses across the country, the Sierra Leone Agriprocessing Competitiveness Project (SLAPCP) has engaged the entire personnel of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDA) in a five-day training of trainers’ exercises in Freetown.
Addressing the trainees at SLAPCP’s Liverpool Street office, the Project Coordinator Dr. Martin Kenawova Gbonda spoke about their efforts in improving the Value Chain of people engaged in the agro-processing business. He said SMEDA personnel are better placed to help improve the capacity of small and medium businesses in managing and improving on their products.
He expressed the hope that the staff being trained would in turn capacitate the SMEs. He spoke about SLAPCP’s previous support to 65 SMEs in the form of capacity building and provision of funds to expand and improve their businesses. He also disclosed that another 40 SMEs will benefit from similar support that will also include start-up kits. Dr. Gbonda expressed the hope that SMEDA with a database of 300 SMEs in various parts of the country will reach out to them and create the enabling environment for growth in their business.
The Chief Executive Officer of SMEDA, Shiaka Samuel Sannoh in his statement spoke about a needs assessment his staff carried out on SMEs in the country. He said the result showed very low skills by SMEs to improve the sector. The SMEDA CEO said with Agriculture accounting for more than 50% of Sierra Leone’s GDP, it was very important for SMEDA to embark on capacitating the SMEs that are more into cash crop production. He said there is a need to teach the people the various business management skills and how they can add value to their products and expand their businesses. He said it would be good for funding institutions to come in and support SMEs since many need a cash injection for their businesses to grow. He believed a more productive SME sector would generate more jobs for the people, thereby reducing unemployment.
The Agribusiness Development initiative under SLAPCP is a five-year project funded by the World Bank through the Government of Sierra Leone that is to complete its cycle in 2023. The focus is on improving locally produced crops and making them more attractive through innovative methods, including packaging.
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