On December 10, 2021, the first program for improve competitiveness of Mozambican SMEs of Eni Rovuma Basin – on behalf of Area 4 partners – and in partnership with Standard Bank Business Incubator. This is iCreate, the program aimed at support small and medium-sized enterprises premises that are already established on the market and have high growth potential. Out of 122 companies that applied, only 25 were selected to participate in the program which is part of Project Coral South's local content plan.
The 12-week programme, dedicated to local businesses that have been operating in the market for over two years, was designed keeping in mind the challenges and needs that SMEs are facing due to the uncertainties due to the current economic situation, aggravated by the epidemiological crisis.
In particular, the iCreate program has been divided into sessions advice one-on-one with a dedicated growth wheel certified business consultant, giving participants the opportunity to have a comprehensive assessment of their business; then seven sessions of workshop with the aim of inspiring participants to identify opportunities to drive change in their business and ultimately 11 masterclass which covered a wide range of topics such as digitalisation, health, safety and the environment, contracts and procurement, access to finance and much more.
The CEO of Eni Rovuma Basin, George Vicini, underlined the importance of supporting the development of local SMEs "to allow them to participate more actively in the country's economic development".
