Liberian SMEs Urged to Seize Regional Markets as Accelerate 360 Dialogue Ends

Monrovia, Liberia — Liberian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to take advantage of regional and international trade opportunities while improving the quality, management and marketability of locally produced goods.

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By Patience M. Jones,patiencejones@frontpageafricaonline.com

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The call was made during the conclusion of a three-day dialogue under the Accelerate 360 Liberia Program, which brought together SMEs, government officials and development partners at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Monrovia.

The final day provided participating businesses an opportunity to showcase their products, share their entrepreneurial journeys and engage directly with officials of the Ministry of Commerce on challenges affecting private-sector growth.

The Chief of Party of Accelerate 360 Liberia, Prosper Doe Melomey, said the three-day engagement was designed around three major areas: public-sector procurement, access to finance and closer engagement between SMEs and government.

Melomey said the program identified more than US$100 million in potential annual public procurement opportunities that could benefit SMEs, based on a possible 25 percent allocation from procuring agencies.

He said the first day focused on public-sector dialogue, including discussions with the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), while the second day focused on connecting SMEs with financial institutions and available financing opportunities.

According to Melomey, access to finance remains one of the major constraints confronting Liberian businesses. He referenced World Bank enterprise survey findings indicating that about 40 percent of Liberian SMEs identify access to finance as a major obstacle to business growth.

He said Accelerate 360 has also submitted about 45 SMEs to the Enterprise Acceleration Project for consideration and is supporting participating businesses in engaging financial institutions to access funding.

“Today, the emphasis is to bring proximity between the SMEs and the ministry,” Melomey said, noting that the final day also marked the completion of the core intervention journey for the program’s first cohort.

Entrepreneurs Share Their Journeys

Among the entrepreneurs sharing her experience was Angia Talo-Davis, founder of Angia Agri-Hub, an agriprocessing company that transforms locally grown agricultural products into ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products.

Talo-Davis said her entrepreneurial journey was inspired by her mother’s health challenges, particularly hypertension.

Angia Davis Founder of Angea Dgro Hub

She explained that she began producing salt-free mixed spices using ingredients such as rosemary, garlic, ginger, bay leaf and cloves as an alternative way of adding flavor and potential nutritional value to food.

“My motivation came from my sick mother,” she said.

She said her business now produces powdered ginger and mixed spices without salt, preservatives or additives, targeting consumers who want convenient and healthier food options.

However, Talo-Davis identified access to markets and competition from imported products as major challenges facing locally produced goods.

She said Liberian consumers must be encouraged to support locally produced products, stressing that the country’s agriprocessing sector has significant potential despite the challenges.

Through Accelerate 360, she said, her business has benefited from technical support in areas including governance, staffing, funding opportunities and market access.

“Let’s grow, eat Liberia and add value to what we’re eating instead of just depending on what is coming in,” she urged Liberian business

Local Manufacturing Faces Market and Raw Material Challenges

Maxwell George Manager of New Horizon INC

Maxwell Sensi George, Portfolio Manager at New Horizon Incorporated, also shared his company’s experience.
New Horizon, which has experience in construction and building-material sales, recently diversified into the production of toiletries in Liberia.
George said the company sees significant potential in local manufacturing but continues to face challenges, particularly the high dependence on imported raw materials and limited market penetration.
He said the company has machinery capable of producing nearly 400 tonnes per day, but is currently operating at only about 25 percent of that capacity due largely to raw-material constraints, distribution challenges and competition from imported finished products.
“We want to increase our distribution outlets so that Liberians in different parts of the country can be able to access our products,” George said.
He also encouraged Liberians to abandon the perception that successful businesses must be foreign-owned.
“Liberians have talents. Liberians have capacity,” he said, arguing that local entrepreneurs can produce quality goods while creating employment and contributing to national economic growth.
George said one of his major takeaways from the three-day dialogue was learning that funding opportunities exist, but many Liberian businesses lack sufficient information about where and how to access them.
Young Entrepreneur Calls for Quality and Government Contracts

Stephame M. Dunean, Co- Founder of Stebel’s Classic

Stephanie M. Duncan, co-founder of Stabelle’s Classic Shoes, a Liberian-owned company producing leather footwear, shoes, slippers and sandals, also called for greater support for local brands.

Duncan said business has been moving slowly but remains promising, emphasizing the need for Liberians to support locally manufactured products.

She said Accelerate 360 provided her business with technical assistance, including business and financial management training.

“Because we want the money, but we also want to be able to maintain the money,” Duncan said, stressing that financial assistance alone cannot guarantee business success without proper management.

She also called on government to create more opportunities for Liberian businesses to compete for government contracts.

Duncan encouraged young people to embrace entrepreneurship by identifying problems and developing solutions.

“Be able to start something from scratch. Be able to turn this thing into another thing,” she said.

Commerce Ministry Pushes Regional Trade

Deputy Minister for Commerce and Trade Remond Reeves challenged Liberian businesses to look beyond the domestic market and take advantage of trade opportunities across West Africa and beyond.

Reeves emphasized that private-sector growth must be at the center of Liberia’s economic transformation, noting that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises play a significant role in economic activity and employment.

He stressed that access to finance must be accompanied by access to markets.

“You can have access to finance and produce your products so much, but have no market to sell the products,” Reeves cautioned.

He encouraged export-ready businesses to take advantage of regional trade mechanisms, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme, which allows qualifying products to move within the West African region without customs duties once the required certificate of origin is obtained.

Reeves also highlighted opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other trade preference arrangements.

He said the Ministry of Commerce, together with the Small Business Administration and Accelerate 360, would work toward organizing dedicated sessions to help SMEs understand how to access regional, continental and international markets.

Ministry Urges SMEs to Manage Businesses Before Seeking More Funding

Deputy Minister for Administration Tarnue Jeke, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, said the government is prioritizing private-sector development, particularly the growth of SMEs into larger industries.

Jeke said structural barriers affecting businesses are being addressed through collaboration involving the Ministry of Commerce, the Central Bank of Liberia, the World Bank, African Development Bank and other partners.

He highlighted the enhanced collateral registry system introduced by the Central Bank, which allows businesses to potentially use movable assets such as machinery as collateral when seeking financing.

However, Jeke cautioned entrepreneurs against focusing solely on obtaining loans without understanding their businesses’ financial position.

He urged business owners to properly calculate their expenses, maintain accurate records and determine whether they are actually making profits.

“You may think the business is going on, but that’s not sustainability,” Jeke warned.

He encouraged SMEs facing challenges to make use of the Ministry’s Small Business Administration, particularly in the areas of capacity building, finance and market access.

Government Seeks More Liberian Businesses in Export Market

Jeke said the government’s broader objective is to create an environment in which Liberian businesses can move beyond survival and become competitive manufacturers and exporters.

He challenged the Ministry and its partners to ensure that more SMEs become capable of accessing regional, continental and international markets.

The Accelerate 360 dialogue ended with calls for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector, increased awareness of financing and procurement opportunities, improved product quality and packaging, and greater support for locally manufactured goods.

For the participating entrepreneurs, the three-day engagement was not only about accessing funding but also about building the knowledge, systems and market connections needed to make Liberian businesses sustainable.

As Liberia seeks to transform its economy, participants agreed that the growth of locally owned businesses will require both government support and greater commitment from entrepreneurs and consumers to buy, build and promote Liberian products.