Ralda: MSMEs should get seed money after training

MICRO-SMALL and Medium Enterprise (MSME) should be given seed capital after receiving financial literacy training, Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation (SMEC) managing-director Petrus Ralda says.
“It is our wish and plan for trainings to be facilitated and funding given at the same time to promote SME businesses and help them remain committed and focused,” he said.
“What we are doing at the moment is facilitating the financial literary training and telling them to go their own way to the banks to obtain the SME loans.
“Currently, there are no plans in place for SMEC to receive funding but we wish there are changes so that we work in partnership with the banks to properly empower them.”
Ralda spoke at a Start Your Business (SYB) graduation ceremony in Kingku Hitech Training Institute in Jiwaka on Friday in which 53 participants graduated.
He said more than 17,000 MSMEs had been trained since 1997 and the number was still growing.
The Government had announced an allocation of K200 million for SME loans to the National Development Bank and Bank South Pacific.
“The poor or lack of financial literacy skills affected many business activities in communities where 85 per cent of our people come from.
“Financial literacy training is a requirement in the loan application and Jiwaka is now privileged to have two trainers who will go out and conduct training in the districts and local level governments,” he said.