AMSCO, COMESA Seal Private Sector Deal

The African Management Services Company (AMSCO) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have signed an agreement to support private sector development among COMESA member states.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya and AMSCO Regional Manager Abraham Lanor in Lusaka, Zambia last week, through which AMSCO commits to providing training programmes to support private sector development in COMESA member states, including Malawi.

A special purpose vehicle established by the International Finance Corporation in the Netherlands to serve as the operational unit of the African Training and Management Services (ATMS) project, AMSCO will provide funding to qualifying beneficiary enterprises and impact initiatives with priority to small-scale enterprises totalling less than US$3 million in revenue.

For medium enterprises, the funding will be between US$3 million and US$15 million in revenue and gross assets. AMSCO will design and implement the PSD and poverty reduction programme on a sectorial basis. The aim is to complement the existing PSD of COMESA.

Furthermore, AMSCO will recruit experts to strengthen the management and technical capabilities of beneficiary enterprises and apex bodies of the private sector. Commenting on the agreement, COMESA secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya said there are many challenges that member states face in the development of the private sector.

Mr Ngwenya cited lack of support to programmes and projects undertaken by various private sector players and skills among entrepreneurs, which has affected the achievement of the standard in the market. He said there is need for the private sector players to work together to develop infrastructure projects that COMESA is implementing.

COMESA was formed in 1994 as 'an organisation of free independent sovereign states which have agreed to co-operate in developing their natural and human resources for the good of all their people'. The organisation currently has 19 member states and a population of over 389 million, making it the largest regional economic organization in Africa.