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to help come up with effective policies for the sector. The surveys started last week and would run until December. Enumerators for the survey who completed their training recently have been deployed in the field.
Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said last week that the surveys would gauge the development of small to medium enterprises.
She was speaking while officially closing a training workshop for the enumerators.
Minister Nyoni said Government prioritised the development of the sector as it played an important role in the recovery of the economy.
“We are concerned with the development of the sector, hence the reason for those surveys,” she said.
“The SMEs played and continue to play a pivotal role in our national economy and they should always be checked.”
The surveys are being financed by the World Bank.
Minister Nyoni said the surveys were mooted after her ministry realised the absence of reliable and conclusive data on the sector.
“This is a tool that will lay a foundation for planning and development of the SME sector,” she said.
“It will also provide guidelines for Government and private sector support.”
Minister Nyoni described SMEs as “new bid industries” that employ millions of people.
“Look at the number of people that are being absorbed in the sector, it is tremendous and this calls for the support of the sector by everyone,” she said.
Officials from the ministry would carry out the survey in conjunction with ZIMSTAT and a South African-based company, Finmark Trust.
Finmark previously carried out a financial consumer survey for Southern African countries.
Online Reporter