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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
SMALL to medium enterprises (SMEs) are playing a critical role in poverty reduction and are contributing more to the overall economic development.
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said this during a tour of budding businesses operating at the old Cold Storage Company (CSC) complex in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Without the hard-working SMEs in Bulawayo and the whole Zimbabwe, the minister said many families would have sunk into poverty.
“SMEs have played a very important role in growing our economy and if we didn’t have SMEs, a lot of families would have sunk into real poverty,” she said.
“When I was walking on Five Street, I was saying to myself, there are hundreds if not thousands of people who are making a living here.”
SMEs operating at the old CSC complex are into food packaging, furniture manufacturing and engineering of mining equipment.
Minister Nyoni said it was impressive to note that the goods being produced by the SMEs in Bulawayo are of an export quality.
The Government has been working towards formalisation of the informal sector in a bid to provide them with decent work space and also promote growth of their business.
During the tour, Minister Nyoni said there is an urgent need to provide work space for SMEs, especially those who operate on road sides and those in ranted places.She promised to engage with other ministries and local authorities to come up with a solution.
“What is glaring is the way that we are very slow in providing infrastructure for SMEs. Now we need to do something urgently to make sure that all those people that are selling on the street are organised enough and may be given work place because streets are now congested,” said Dr Nyoni.
“One of the things I will do is to engage with Bulawayo Minister of State and Provincial Affairs and the local authorities to see how we can expedite provision of work space for SMEs especially in Bulawayo.”
In a separate interview, director of Kmac, a local furniture producer, Mr Killian Machingambi, said they were happy to be formalised as they are able to get loans and support from Government.
He said their only challenge work space.
Another SME operator at Inkaba Foods, Mr Collicen Dzingai, said they were able to get orders especially in public supplies but were limited by workspace.Recently, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) partnered with local stakeholders including Bulawayo City Council and Old Mutual in renovating the Metro-Mini Factories, which is now accommodating more than 60 SMEs with good facilities. – @sikhulekelaniM1
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