SMEs urged to be innovative

Speaking at the official launch of a book by Brigadier-General David Chiweza (Retired) last week, Minister of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Co-operative Development Sithembiso Nyoni said Zimbabweans needed to be innovative so that they penetrate markets formerly dominated by developed nations.

The book is titled: “Out of the rabble; Ending the global economic crisis by understanding the Zimbabwean experience”.

“This spirit of pioneering reflects the originality and free thinking that must be encouraged in Zimbabwe if we are to resolve our economic challenges. His writing contributes refreshing new meanings to the local and global economic situation.

“There have been successive calls by leadership in both industry and Government to develop home-grown solutions. He made history by coming up with a fifth factor of production, having argued and justified his inclusion of markets as a fifth factor of production,” she said.

Minister Nyoni hailed the book and said it gave a detailed account of the Zimbabwean economic crises from the military and business perspectives.

“The book itself makes a significant contribution to the development of a body of knowledge that can be used by national leaders, academics and business community in search for a home-grown solution to the economy.”

She said SMEs have been affected by superior technology on local and global markets which is a result of a shortage of capital to adapt and respond to competition.

She applauded Brig-Gen Chiweza (Rtd) for availing the book on websites such as Amazon. This, she said, was a positive development which shows that Zimbabweans were penetrating markets that were mainly foreign dominated.

She encouraged Zimbabweans to participate in literature works at a global stage.
Academic Mufunani Tungu Khosa said the book provided a graphic and vivid picture of the world economy that is in a crisis. He said Brig-Gen Chiweza (Rtd) boldly conveyed his message based on his experience and wide reading.

“He unpacks the causes of the global recession and uses simple language to present the evidence. The author provides well-referenced evidence to support his position that the secrets of rabble nations are land, capital, labour, entrepreneurship, and markets,” he said.