SIDO set to launch SMEs data base

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta admires a gift made of beads by Ms Glory Mwilaria. Left: Ms Mwilaria, the Daglo Arts proprietor, during the interview in Meru town on December 17, 2015. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL 

Daily News Reporter

SMALL Industries Development Organisation (SIDO), has embarked on programme to create small and medium enterprises database across the country.

The database, SMEs Portal, is expected to be launched midnext month and would be available and handled by all SIDO’s regional offices.

SIDO’s Director General Eng, Omar Bakari said the SMEs Portal geared to know better the enterprises to better their activities.

“The database will enable us to offer relevant assistance to SMEs,” Eng Bakari said, adding “even to show them opportunities available at their operative area.”

The SMEs Portal is part of the organisation’s five years master plan. At the moment the country does not have such portal and in most cases create challenge on reaching SMEs and provide relevant assistance. Fortune Africa estimated that there are over 2.6 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), in the country.

The MSMEs cover non-farm economic activities mainly manufacturing, mining, commerce and services and their capital for micro are up to 5.0m/-,small between 5.0m/ and 200m/-while medium is 200m/-to 800m/-.

Such assistance, include credit guarantee, quality assurance, entrepreneur skills and various incentive for encouraging SMEs to increase productivity.

To help, SMEs to access credit, SIDO created a National Entrepreneur Development Fund (NEDF), which dished out 1.7bn/- in terms of loans between July and September.

Eng Omar also said the organisation assists SMEs on obtaining quality assurance from Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS). He further said they are studying the high purchase (HP) platform in bid to perfect and adapt a system that will improve leasing of technology further.

The HP platform is supported by SIDA and the ceiling for leasing of technology is capped at 6m/-per project. The platform is under Regional Revolving Fund (RRF), where SIDO is lending an entrepreneur machines and paying back the loan through output sales.

SIDO was established in 1973 as a parastatal organisation under Ministry of Trade, Industry and Marketing. Its objective was to develop the small industry sector in Tanzania.