USAID program focuses on local SME development.
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
TechnoServe on December 22 signed an agreement to run an ambitious business development programme financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The five-year Swaziland Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programme (SWEEP) will be officially launched at an event in Mbabane next month. It will drive economic growth and job creation in the Kingdom of Swaziland by developing and supporting Swazi-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thus creating employment and income opportunities for the country?s rural poor.
SWEEP?s business advisers will support individual entrepreneurs and their businesses throughout each stage of their development ? from idea to expansion. SWEEP will work with Swaziland?s financial institutions to help close the gaps between their respective products and SME clients. The program will also build sustainable local capacity ? such as local business service providers, relevant government agencies and associations ? to support entrepreneurs and SMEs.
