Govt to set up $1m skills development centre for SMEs

Oliver Kazunga Business Reporter
THE Government and India will soon sign a memorandum of understanding to pave way for the setting up of a $1 million incubation centre to assist Small to Medium Enterprises with entrepreneurial skills. Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said Government had already secured premises in Harare to set up the modern skills development centre.

“We will be soon signing a Memorandum of Understanding with an Indian company that will supply and set up the equipment for the incubation centre where SMEs from all corners of the country will be trained,” she said.

It is hoped that if all goes according to plan, the centre would be set up before the end of the year.
The incubation centre, she said would see SMEs in 27 different economic sectors receiving training to boost competitiveness of their products.

“The Indian investor will also provide expertise on how to use the machine to improve the quality of different products that they manufacture.”

Recently, Government noted the critical role that SMEs play in economic development.
In 2009, the Government launched a $5 million state-of-the-art technology centre under the Indo-Zimbabwe project in Harare and Bulawayo while 14 other centres were also established in different provinces to ensure SMEs adopt the latest technologies.

The centres established under this project also provide training for youth, aspiring SME’s and students from different institutions of higher learning.

So far, SMEs accounts for $7 billion a year and the money is estimated to be circulating outside the banking system.
According to a survey released by Government early this year, the sector employs 5,7 million people.

The contraction of economic activity accompanied by de-industrialisation has occasioned the emergency of SMEs.
The sector contributes to output and employment creation and SMEs have become a nursery for the larger firms of the future.

Given their role in an economy such as Zimbabwe, SMEs require adequate funding to unlock their potential as a source of rapid economic growth, poverty reduction, bridging present supply gaps in the economy, and uplifting living standards in the country.