The Transfer of Small Business Assistance Strategies to Emerging Countries: The Case of Malawi

Malawi, located in Southern Africa, was ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. Small business development was being emphasised by government and donors to expand employment and income. Numerous agencies, financed by government and foreign donors, existed in Malawi to assist the small business sector expand. The formation and much of the technologic know how used by these agency was originally transferred from donor countries. This paper presents results from a study to determine the capacity of these organisations to carry out national employment objectives. Numerous capacity constraints were identified and suggestions were made to improve agency effectiveness. The diverse source of SME assistance know-how was suggested as one cause of the capacity limitation of the agencies.