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Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
SMALL to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) need sound education, information, and access to financial products that can enhance their businesses as the nature of their businesses has seen a number of them failing to get loans as they lack collateral.
This was highlighted by Mrs Gamuchirai Chavhunduka-Gode, the founder of Skin-Care Skin-Share, a beauty company in Bulawayo who said their industry was lacking in terms of access to loans from financial institutions.
A marketer and pharmacy technician by profession, Mrs Chavhunduka-Gode said she also studied beauty therapy professionally at Bulawayo Polytechnic where she mastered her skill. She, like many other SMEs, faces financial challenges.
“We face financial challenges like many other small businesses, we have our own brand of facial and body products and we are failing to really supply the market effectively and have products all the time. We need financing to buy raw materials and packaging from outside the country and we fail to do that effectively, disappointing our client at the same time so it’s a challenge for us,” she said.
She said the beauty industry, despite it being big and growing, was falling short in terms of financing and there were efforts being made to bring together the players to get assistance in financing, how to apply for loans, and how to ensure they were paid up.
“I have not been to a bank or financial institution to get a loan, and again the issue of collateral is a challenge because we hear banks need all that so as small players, we do not have that and we would like to get assistance as to how we can access financial products and improve our businesses,” she said.
Mrs Chavhunduka -Gode said she and many other SMEs would want to get financial literacy and access to loans so that they improve their businesses. She said other SMEs who were doing other businesses seem to be accessing financing and said she hoped the beauty industry gets the recognition it deserves from where they would be considered for financing models that were comfortable for them.
Mrs Chavhunduka-Gonde said another challenge they faced was that of being asked to present financial records which they usually don’t have to access loans.
“Many of us do not have bank records as the money quickly moves from the business back into the market to secure raw materials so, sometimes we cannot show a financial institution any bank statements and they are hesitant to lend us money and it’s a challenge,” she added.
Skin Care Skin Share was established in 2020 after she battled with her own skin.
“I used to have a lot of acne on my face from around Form Two and later I discovered a brand from South Africa that I was marketing locally so I used the products too and they never worked well on me and I then discovered I needed to use more products that complement each other for them to be effective. I then started seeing changes in my face and continued selling to a wider market while I was a sales manager at a company in Bulawayo. I later researched a lot about skin and various products and I started selling products from abroad as I was growing my side hustle,” she said.
She then started Tiff Glow, an in-house brand that grew into a sizable venture.
“I used to mix various products and created our own products. I was using it with my young sister and it was working for us then someone asked what we were using as they liked our skin and I saw an opportunity to make the products at a large scale and that was the birth of the Tiff Glow Brand.
“As time moved clients were asking for more services and that is when I ventured into other things like face treatments, micro-needling, skin peeling, massages, manicures, and pedicures slowly and I opened a shop in town,” she added.
She, however gives back by supporting the less privileged in the communities. After seeing growth in her new venture Mrs Chavhunduka-Gode said she quit her job in 2021 and started working full-time at her business.
The development of SMEs has been identified as an area that can steer the development of local economies if supported adequately and if initiatives are made to formalise the small businesses in the city and beyond.
In 2021, the Bulawayo SME’s Centre was opened where a total of US$165 000 was channeled into the refurbishment of an old premise where SMEs are being housed. — @NyembeziMu.
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