Stanbic Bank Tanzania and National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) have partnered to enhance the growth of Small Medium Entreprises (SMEs) in the country through capacity-building and business support services.
The Bank’s Chief Executive, Kevin Wingfield and NEEC Executive Secretary Beng’i Issa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the initiative witnessed by Abdallah Ulega, Deputy Minister, Livestock and Fisheries Development.
According to Mr Wingfield, the lender attaches great importance to the development of the SME sector to warrant the partnership with NEEC to enable them entering the regional competitive market.
“This is the beginning of a new era,” Mr Wingfield said adding “with our respective capabilities, ‘Supplier Development Programme’ will make a meaningful contribution to the SME sector and the country as a whole.”
With the MoU, the long-term partnership will see the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem through capacity-building and business support services.
The partnership, also, seeks to leverage both institutions’ knowledge, expertise, technology, and resources, to enable local SMEs to exploit the country’s investment opportunities and increase their regional and global competitiveness.
Livestock and Fisheries Development Deputy Minister, Mr Ulega, applauded both institutions for taking this major step in supporting Tanzanian SMEs, noting that the training is what SMEs need to become assertive and participate in competitive tenders.
On the other hand, Ms Issa said that the training aims at cover seven regions and will begin in Dar es Salaam where 50 participants will be trained for three months.
“Our collaboration with Stanbic will provide an opportunity to gain skills in leadership, finance and accounts, taxes, laws, contracts, marketing and procurement,” she said.
Under the terms of the MoU, the two parties will jointly contribute to the implementation of a capacity-building program named the ‘Supplier Development Programme’.
The programme will see SMEs enjoy a bouquet of opportunities to up skill their businesses and leverage the opportunities within key strategic projects such as the East African Crude oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, and other sectors in construction, agribusiness and fisheries among others.
The programme leverages other successful programs in the Standard Bank Group in other countries like the Business Incubator in Uganda and Mozambique.
According to Stanbic, the partnerships are a key pillar in its journey to support the entire SME ecosystem and also create a framework to expand the bank’s expertise to provide access to banking solutions for inclusive growth and socio-economic transformation.
