The Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Mozambique (APME) revealed on Monday 16 December that one of its main priorities for the new mandate will be to facilitate access to finance for Mozambican small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the aim of creating a favourable environment for their growth.
This was stated by Osvaldo Maúte, the new chairman of APME’s Board of Directors, during the swearing-in ceremony for the association’s new team and the launch of a business development platform for start-ups, which took place on Monday in Maputo.
He emphasised that access to credit is one of the biggest challenges faced by SMEs in the country. To overcome this obstacle, APME plans to establish partnerships with financial institutions to create specific credit lines with affordable conditions for SMEs.
‘We are committed to exploring alternatives such as microcredit, venture capital funds and financial incentive programmes to ensure that SMEs have the resources they need to grow,’ explained Maúte.
He also pointed out that APME will also ‘train companies by organising training, workshops and events to develop skills in marketing management, technology and leadership’, as he believes that ‘companies can only grow if their leaders are trained to face the challenges of the market.’
During the event, the president of the Confederation of Mozambican Economic Associations (CTA), Agostinho Vuma, expressed ‘full support’ for the new APME management, reaffirming his willingness on behalf of the Confederation to ‘do everything possible to ensure the success of the new team’s mission over the next four years.’
At the same event, APME presented its business development platform for startups – Startupafrica News (a data-driven tool covering African startups, accelerating the innovation system by connecting the dots between entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, events, startup incubators and accelerators and all the key players in the African system), which will serve to give SMEs access to information and enable them to access this and the Association’s new programmes.
APME is a national organisation created with the aim of defending the interests of all micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that carry out economic activities in Mozambique.
Text: Germano Ndlovo