Single mum sets sights on registering SME to support family

LAE resident and single mother Cecilia Joe is focused on formally registering her sewing operation as a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) with the Investment Promotion Authority.
The Gulf woman made her intentions known after attending the Lae city Info Market Day last Saturday at the Lae Botanical Garden.
Joe, 46, has a nine-year-old son.
She depends on the income earned from selling meri blouses to support the two of them.
She had been sewing and selling meri blouses for just over three months, trading around the SME Incubator area at Okari.
Her products were sold for K100 apiece.
Joe said to register her SME, she needed about K200.
However, right now, Joe told The National that her sewing machine needed to be repaired and she was struggling again.
“I am appealing to any government or not-for-profit organisations out there to assist my child and I, so that I can continue to sew and support the two of us.
“I also really want to register my small operation as an SME, but I need some assistance here,” Joe said.