SME incubation centre ‘almost ready’

Lorraine Muromo

Government’S initiative to commission an incubation centre for budding local enterpreneurs is coming to fruition as the equipment that will be used at the facility has docked at Beira Port, Mozambique.

It is expected to be in the country by April 3 this year.

The centre – which will mainly major in 27 disciplines such as baking, dipper tanking and toilet paper making — is in line with Government plans to nurture the sector, which has become the centre of economic activity. Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operatives Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni told The Sunday Mail Business that the Local Government Ministry was renovating the facility in Waterfalls, Harare.

“We have done everything as a ministry and we now leave everything to the Ministry of Local Government to do renovations here and there so that operations can proceed,” she said.

She said the centre would target those already involved in the various disciplines on offer and will only try to professionalise their skills.

“An approximate of 30 people will be recruited per discipline at a time,” explained Minister Nyoni.

The centre will house retail space for sale of produce from the facility.

India donated US$1 million to facilitate operationalisation of the incubation centre. Estimates suggest there could be more than US$7 billion circulating outside the mainstream economy and controlled by unregistered SMEs, a figure that dwarfs the US$5,2 billion captured in the formal economy.

Government, within the context of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustianable Socio-Economic Transformation, has been devising ways of bringing these billions into the mainstream economy.

Experts say the growth of SMEs will create jobs and improve incomes. Reports suggest there are over 50 million SMEs employing more than 60 percent of Africa’s workforce. Executive director of the International Trade Centre Mrs Arancha Gonzalez recently said the world needs to create 500 million jobs between now and 2030 and that SMEs are at the centre of achieving this. She also said it was important that SMEs include more women in their activities to spur economic development and growth.

“Women are an integral part of SMEs and should be considered as part and parcel of the agenda. With the right domestic policies, financial inclusion and competitiveness there is definitely a huge possibility for SMES in Zimbabwe to be the incubator of jobs and growth which can revive the economy,” she said.