Story by Patience Nyagato
Government has expressed commitment to creating a formalised, productive and export-oriented small and medium enterprises sector after more than two million SMEs received funding from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO).
Harare Chamber of SMEs Chairperson Mr Lucky Moyo is among the millions of beneficiaries from government’s credit financing institution SMEDCO, which has seen the establishment of various entities in various sectors of the economy.
His story highlights the crucial role of financing in the development of the SMEs sector.
“Over 30 years ago I applied for money from SMEDCO which had been created by government to help SMEs. I would like to testify that this initiative has changed life. If you knew where I was then it is testimony of the growth necessitated by government funding through this organisation, he explained.
Over two million people have benefitted from the state-owned enterprise financial services, with a number of projects already underway countrywide to improve the SME sector, including the creation of more workspaces for SMEs.
“Small and Medium Enterprise Development Corporation is an entity, a state-owned enterprise, which falls under the Ministry of Women Affairs, called Small and Medium Enterprise Development. And we were established in 1983 and 40 years of existence. And over the 40 years of existence, we have assisted more than 2 million micro-small and medium enterprises. And in terms of our founding act, which is the Small and Medium Enterprise Act, Chapter 24.12, our main mandate is the provision of credit finance, be it working capital, be it capital expenditure, be it order finance, be it invoice discounting, to the MSMEs operating in the country. Then the second pillar, we also provide workspaces.
“And last but not least, then the third pillar, we also provide capacity building in the form of training and financial literacy and advisory. We also provide schemes, which are permitted in our act. And some of the milestones, as you heard earlier, during the launch of this SMEDCO Park, what you heard, the chamber. I read a chapter when he was speaking about the fact that he was assisted more than 30 years ago. This shows the track record of the entities we have assisted throughout the country, throughout the 10 provinces. And indeed, we do have a lot of testimonies just about this,” explained Mr Obert Ngwenya Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Mr Obert Ngwenya.
In a bid to create a productive, competitive and export-oriented SMEs sector, government is implementing the micro, small and medium enterprises policy which is aimed at growing the sector.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is evident and widely recognised that SMEs are now new engines for economic development in Zimbabwe. These enterprises are visible in key productive sectors, including leather, mining, clothing, agriculture, food and beverages, fruit. And as the sector continues to grow, government, through the National Development Strategy and micro, small, and medium enterprises’ policy framework, is seized with efforts to capacitate SMEs to transform into formalised, productive, competitive, and growth and export oriented enterprises,” noted Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development
Meanwhile, to mark over four decades of existence in the country, SMEDCO commissioned new offices in Harare this Monday.
