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Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) has called on young entrepreneurs to formalise their business enterprises to enable them to get financial assistance, grow and enhance their contribution to the national economic development.
Over 61 percent of the country’s population are youths who can contribute to economic development if they utilise all the opportunities that are at their disposal. The youths are among the 2, 4 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) operating in Zimbabwe. The sector employs almost 5 million people on a full-time basis.
ZYC executive director, Brian Nyagwande said to date they have facilitated the formalisation of more than 7 000 businesses to ensure youths participate in the mainstream economy.
“As ZYC since 2020, we have partnered with the Registrar of Companies, Deeds and Intellectual Property on a subsidised rate to register young people enterprises. This is to ensure that young people’s businesses and enterprises are formalised. This allows them to be able to access credit lines, investments and markets. From 2020 to date, we have assisted over 7 000 youth enterprises to be registered. The ZYC was also instrumental in the formation and creation of the Empower Bank which has gone a long way to provide financial support so that they are mainstreamed in the economy.”
The Empower Bank is 100 percent registered micro bank regulated by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and was formed for the purpose of providing social and financial solutions to the financially excluded population with a greater focus on the youths.
Mr Nyagwande said their mandate was to also bring together the Government and its agencies at every level to take reasonable measures to ensure that youths are afforded opportunities for employment and other avenues to economic empowerment.
He said ZYC together with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training have lobbied for the creation of youth focal desks in all the Government Ministries to ensure that in all their programming and programmes they include the youth.
“Ministries are then supposed to present opportunities available for young people in their purview, who then seize these to create strategic entrepreneurial initiatives, businesses and enterprises that create employment for the other youths.”
Mr Nyagwande said as the ZYC in terms of ensuring that young people partake in empowerment opportunities, they were going to be coming up with a youth symposium where they will bring all entrepreneurs in one house together with relevant stakeholders.
He said it was critical to position young people for growth of their ventures, while they could only be empowered if they are running formalised businesses that are compliant with the law.
Youth-led organisation, Youth Network Connect (YNC) managing director, Mr Philimon Nyirenda said promoting competitiveness for entrepreneurs was critical by creating and developing a conducive environment for businesses.
Young Miners Foundation (YMF) Founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Payne Kupfuwa said formalisation and professionalisation of young miners, was a key development that would positively contribute to the attainment of the US$12 billion mining industry. He said it would also create more formal jobs and business opportunities in the mining value chain for the youths.
Bongani Ndlovu