SMEs ready to make mark

Walter Muchinguri Assistant Business Editor
A number of Small to Medium scale enterprises in the Midlands province are determined to make significant contributions to the economy and employment creation as prescribed under the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation despite facing a number of challenges.

A tour of four SMEs in Kwekwe and Gweru organised by the Office of the President and Cabinet for diplomats and representatives of lending agencies such as the African Capacity Building Fund and African Development Bank, revealed that most of the companies were making meaningful contribution to the economy and re-employing people that were laid off by big companies such as Bata while also creating employment for graduates and other unemployed youths.

However, while most of the companies were poised for growth they required support in the form of capital and working space.

Mr Lee Sithole of Lamacast Refractories, a company based in Redcliff that manufactures, supplies, installs and offers consultancy services on refractory material for mines and other industries said that while they have a ready market for their products the challenge has been on funding. “We need banks to assist us with funding to increase capacity to meet growing demand because we have a ready market and all the material we manufacture is per order. We do not keep any stocks,” he said.

“We source most of our raw materials from Mazowe and Mutoko and we will want to have synergies with people in those areas,” he said.

He added that there was also need to expedite the resuscitation of NewZim steel, which he said would held them to broaden their client base.

The company’s products include B2, side arc bricks and tiles, which are used for lining furnaces, ladles, teeming and electricity installations. Mr Mastermind Ndafira of Ndaftech investment, a furniture manufacturing company based in Gweru, said while they have managed to capture a significant share of the market in the Midlands Province they were being constrained by finances and working space.

“We are renting these premises and most of the money we make goes to rentals and other expenses leaving us with less money to expand plus we have constraints in the size of our showroom which is very small,” he said.

Mr Ndafira, who employs five permanent staff members and several apprentices including disadvantage youths, said that they were however optimistic of overcoming the challenges.

Deputy Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Noveti Muponora, who is part of the delegation pledged to assist Mr Ndafira.

Mr Ridgewell Manyima of Ridgeway Investment Abu, a strategic business unit for Bata that employs 35 employees most of whom were ex-Bata workers, said that their capacity was being constrained by old machinery.

“We are grateful to Bata for having supplied us with machinery and technical expertise to set up the business but we are currently operating at about 50 percent because most of the machinery is now old and needs to be replaced,” he said.

The same sentiments were echoed by Mr Lovemore Dube of Dubs Investment, another strategic business unit for Bata.

Mr Dube, who worked for Bata for 46 years and employs 38 employees, said that persistent power cuts had not helped as they were contributing to frequent breakdown of the machinery.

The delegation is also expected to tour several companies in Bulawayo.