adminKudzanai Gerede
PRESIDENT Mugabe has called on small and medium enterprises to form joint ventures with both local and external partners for the growth of their businesses, taking advantage of the country’s centrality to regional economic and trading blocs such as SADC and COMESA to create new markets.
Speaking at the official opening of the country’s inaugural International Small and Medium Enterprises Expo held in Harare last week, President Mugabe acknowledged the impact SMEs have on both the local and global economies and applauded local SMEs for producing quality products that can compete on the global markets only if they scale up production.
“SMEs are producing products of international standards that can be competitively exported anywhere in the world and I also implore businesses to keep on exploring new markets for their products and services and wish to encourage them to keep up the quality in order to remain competitive while participating at international fairs.
“SMEs should form joint ventures in order to benefit from accessing far more raw materials, lines of credit and have new markets for their products and services, imported technology and managerial expertise and that is what our friends from Iran will help us with,” said President Mugabe.
He said there were 3,5 million SMEs in the country, employing 2,9 million people and posted a $ 7,4 billion turnover in 2012 circulating in the country’s informal sector.
According to International Finance Cooperation, 2012 report, there are over 125 million SMEs globally, creating 67 percent of global employment and more than 51 percent in Gross Domestic Products of countries. Locally, it creates over 60 percent of employment contributing over 50 percent of national GDP.
He also said there was need to embrace local and global certification standards, embrace value addition in order to minimise potential leakages of profits as enshrined in the country’s economic blueprint Zim-Asset and make sure their business are insured in order to get compensation in case of any misfortune such as the recently gutted Glen View complex where many SMEs lost their products.
Last week, Standards Association of Zimbabwe director general Dr Eve Gadzikwa also reiterated the importance of formalising the SMEs by making sure they have local and global certification standards as well as insurance to mitigate risks.
President Mugabe said Government was aware of the challenges facing SMEs such as inadequate land space, lack of new technologies and negative perception by banks that are often reluctant to give lines of credit to SMEs as they regard them as risk markets and assured them that Government was addressing these challenges.
“Government is committed to address these challenges, let me assure you Government has enacted the SMEs Act with the main aim of promoting and developing the Small and Medium Enterprises. The Act further advocates that 25 percent of all Government tenders be set aside for the procurement of goods and services to be reserved for SMEs and it is now the responsibility of the ministry responsible to align it,” he said.
There were 28 companies from Iran at the expo, exploring areas of cooperation and investment with exhibiting SMEs.
Online Reporter