Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
WOMEN Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa has urged commercial banks to consider SMEs as customers.
Speaking at the SMEs International Expo held at Harare Gardens recently, Sen Mutsvangwa said if commercial banks do not consider SMEs, they are losing out because that is where the money is.
“I always say this when I’m talking to the staff in my office, that this is not the time to look down upon SMEs. It’s not a joke to say 76 percent of the GDP is coming from the SMEs,” she said.
“I’ve seen several commercial banks that have come on board, created an SMEs desk in the banking halls and a women’s desk.”
Sen Mutsvangwa commended the work that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is doing to ensure access to finance to SMEs.
She said facilitating access to regional and international markets is key to building resilience and agility of SMEs, more so with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“It’s not enough to assist the development of SMEs without assisting them to get markets to sell what they are making. We need to have intra-trade through the continent,” said Sen Mutsvangwa.
Business Connect chief executive officer and founder of the SMEs International expo, Mrs Blessing Magen’a, said they have partnered with the City of Harare and developed the piece of land where the expo was being held.
“So we want to invite the corporate world. We want to develop this place. So whoever is willing to help, we are waiting,” she said.
Mrs Magen’a said so far they have fenced the sides of part of Harare Gardens and fixed the borehole, the fish pond and tower lights.
“So now this place is ok, especially during the evening. This area was mainly occupied by the street fathers, ‘zvigunduru’, and it was not utilised fully, so we thought maybe since we’ve got an expo and want to develop SMEs, this will be an area where we can do that,” she said.
Mrs Magen’a said the area will be used for training.
“We’ve partnered with big organisations so that at least we develop this place to suit what the SMEs want to do,” she said.
