adminNgoni Dapira
THE Micro, Small and Medium enterprises sector is now considered as the economic driver in Zimbabwe and Government is pushing for the formalisation of the sector for it to contribute towards the fiscus. While some players in this sector are reaping huge profits by evading taxation some, however, have adopted the legitimate way and are trying to “make a dollar out of 50 cents” everyday to earn a living earnestly. With the a high unemployment rate in Zimbabwe and a nail biting incumbent liquidity crunch, formal employment is slowly fading and the informal sector is mushrooming.
It has come to a melting point where people are now saying, “any job can do” so long it puts food on the table.
With that in mind, the Zimbabwe Progressive Airtime Vendors Association an association for airtime vendors and mobile money transfer agents is on a drive to shape up and professionalise its growing enterprises of airtime vendors and mobile money transfer agents.
On every street corner or along street pavements after every 10 to 15 metres you see a person wearing a bib holding airtime or an Ecocash sign post.The enterprising services of airtime vendors and Ecocash or Telecash agents have become a saviour to many people, mostly youths, who are failing to secure permanent employment.
The demand for the services is increasingly growing fuelled by the high usage mobile phones and mobile money transfer systems throughout the country.
Mobile money transfers have fast gained popularity over the years because of the efficiency to people with relatives in the rural areas where banks are not available.
The poor banking confidence environment of indigenous banks closing operations intermittently also contributed to the popularity of mobile money transfer services.
In an interview with ZPAVA chairman, Mr Godspower Hamandishe, he said in the wake of the sharp increase in the number airtime vendors and mobile phone transfers agents countrywide the association now seeks to professionalise the trade starting with changing the name “vendor”.
“As Government aims to professionalise the informal sector as an association for airtime vendors and mobile money transfers we want to have it on record that we want the term airtime vendor to be changed to airtime transacter.
“If those who work in mobile phone transfers are called mobile transacters, we want the same name which is more professional in tone,” said Mr Hamandishe.
He said though airtime transacters on the streets scuttle for little profits, the earnings were better off than one sitting at home, which was a step forward to creating self sustaining initiatives for youths.
For every $1 juice-card an airtime transacter gets 8 cents profit. The juice-cards sold by Mobile companies, Econet, Telecel and Netone to account holding airtime agents referred to as distributors are sold in batches of 100. Distributors purchase a batch (100 cards) at $4,55 and sell it to licensed airtime transacters at $4,60, making a profit of 5 cents.
All airtime transacters are supposed to be licensed through Mutare City Council and registered according to a cluster they will operate in paying $3 per two-weeks. However, like in any economic jungle a free-for-all system is bound to come about wherever money and opportunity comes to light. Mr Hamandishe said a growing concern of unlicensed airtime transacters referred to as “poachers” were increasing at an uncontrollable rate.
He said that is why they were calling for professionalism as an association and for the uniting of membership to create guided frameworks of operating that all will abide to. He added that the poachers got their airtime from some distributors out to make a quick buck. They operate in any cluster they want which was unfair to licensed transacters that pay money to the local authority.
“As an association we are in touch with local authorities and in our case we have assisted a lot of our registered members in their clusters when poachers encroached.
“We work with city council police to contain the situation and the poachers are charged with a fine,” he said.
ZPAVA secretary general, Mr James Gondo said mobile money transfer operators paid an annual $200 Ecocash license which has been critisised to be too much.
However the association had successfully negotiated for its members to pay the amount collectively per cluster rather than individually as is the current case.
“We are also training interested airtime transacters and mobile money transfer agents. After the training we give them reference to distributors or mobile money transfer agents. Our reference comes in handy as a registered association and credible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise entity. Our references stand a better chance to get juice cards on credit from distributors after our recommendations than a run of the mill person not known,” said Mr Gondo.
ZPAVA is also now steering the Steward Bank Point Of Sale gadget initiative better known as the agent banking facility. The facility is intended to make banking convenient for clients with Ecocash and a debit cards linked to an Ecocash wallet account and Steward bank account.
Instead of clients going to the bank they would be able to transact through the POS gadget wherever, with the POS transacter getting a commission payable every month end.
Mr Gondo said the handy POS gadget which also has a ZimSwitch service will increase the earnings of transacters who will now become a one-stop-centre for airtime and cash withdrawal and deposits.
“Electronic banking is the future and as an association we want airtime traders to be ready for this technology. But we have to professionalise and be organised to be entrusted with the gadgets, which is what we are calling for as an association,” said Mr Gondo.
According to a 2012 FinScope report the MSME sector in Zimababwe is estimated to have employed 5.7 million jobs created by 2,8 million small businesses.
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