13/08/2026
Thursday August 13th, 2026:
SME CORPORATION RE-STRATEGIZES ITS BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO SUPPORT MSMEs AT THE WARD AND DISTRICT LEVELS
SME Corporation has re-strategized its bottom-up approach to delivering key programs and projects by strengthening engagement with ward members and Local Level Government (LLG) presidents across districts.
As part of this approach, SME Corporation is working directly with ward leaders and local representatives to ensure its programs and services reach communities at the grassroots level.
As a pilot initiative, 37 ward members and representatives from the wards in the New Anglimp District of Jiwaka Province participated in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Start Your Business – Micro Enterprise (SYB-ME) and Improve Your Business (IYB) training programmes, conducted by SME Corporation in the last 10 days.
A total of 118 participants attended the two ILO programs, comprising 89 participants under SYB-ME and 29 participants under IYB.
The SYB-ME participants are mainly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the informal sector, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs.
The IYB training was targeted at MSMEs who have already acquired the SYB-ME training and are already operating in the formal sector, while also supporting business owners seeking to further strengthen and formalize their enterprises.
As the mandated government agency responsible for MSME development under the SME Corporation Act 2014, SME Corporation also supported participants through its business formalization initiative.
More than half of the 118 participants have now formalized their businesses through SME Corporation’s business registration subsidization program. Under the program, participating MSMEs contributed 25 percent of the business registration cost, equivalent to K50, while SME Corporation subsidized the remaining 75 percent, equivalent to K100, payable to the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA).
President of New Anglimp LLG, Nickolas Kurua, expressed his appreciation to SME Corporation for bringing business development services directly to the people and supporting local entrepreneurs through the subsidization of business registration costs.
Participants also thanked SME Corporation for reducing the cost of formalizing their businesses and providing them with practical business development support.
The initiative is part of SME Corporation’s broader effort to take its services closer to communities, strengthen grassroots participation and support the transition of informal businesses into the formal economy.
This is not the first time SME Corporation has subsidized business registration costs for program participants. In 2024, participants of the Start Your Business – Micro Enterprise program in Mul-Baiyer District also benefited from SME Corporation’s business registration subsidization initiative.
