adminThe recently re-branded West Foods Holdings signed a deal with SMEs in the town to provide groceries to the entrepreneurs in Hwange at wholesale price.
In the past, SMEs in Hwange complained about transport costs and the unavailability of wholesalers in the town forcing them to travel to Bulawayo to order goods.
Mr Chauke said SMEs appreciated the effort by the town council to promote and support growing businesses for purposes of economic growth.
“This is a step in the right direction and as small businesses we want to grab this opportunity to develop ourselves through hard work and continued innovativeness.
“I believe Hwange businesspeople have got what it takes to make the town a hub of business activities rather than depending on other cities,” he said.
He said they had already informed West Foods chief executive officer Mr Ken Sharpe that they had secured premises for the construction of a wholesale, which he said they would start constructing early next year.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr Sharpe were fruitless as he was said to be out of the country.
Mr Chauke said their members were already in the process of mobilising resources for the construction of the shopping mall and the flea market centre.
“We are so excited and we have already started mapping a way forward as we want to see all these projects running by the end of next year,” he said.
He said SMEs would benefit from these projects as they will enjoy reduced prices.
“The major challenge facing SMEs is on accessing raw materials and basic services as they have to either travel to other cities like Bulawayo or going outside the country.
“Many business events happen without our knowledge in Hwange. The gesture by West Foods is really welcome because we have an acute shortage of wholesalers. We would like to thank the town council for the commercial stands they gave us, ” he said.
Online Reporter