Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo, Zimpapers Business Hub
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to embrace digital and e-commerce platforms as they prepare to trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Experts say this will help enhance competitiveness, increase their customer base, and reach a wider audience.
This call came at the two-day National Capacity Building Workshop on Unlocking Opportunities for SMEs under the AfCFTA, which ended on Friday in Bulawayo. The workshop brought together Government officials, SME representatives, stakeholders, and a representative from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). It was designed to tackle key barriers affecting SMEs, including access to finance, logistics, non-tariff barriers, and limited knowledge of trade rules. The workshop also explored new opportunities in digital trade under the recently adopted AfCFTA protocols.
In her presentation, United Nations Trade and Development digital trade expert Ms Sonia Nnadozie said that SMEs’ use of digital platforms can help small businesses reach a wider audience and new markets at a cheaper cost. She also said the arrival of digital platforms has helped SMEs better understand market needs and access data and statistics that can help with planning and gaining market knowledge.
“Digital platforms can be used to grow, multiply your turnover, and get access to new markets and contribute ultimately to the development of your country,” said Ms Nnadozie. “It can help you reach more customers at a cheaper cost because, before the digital age, when you wanted to get into new markets, you had to travel there and find a partner to promote your business on the ground. You can convert interests into orders or work on quotations if you are into business-to-business.” She added that e-commerce will allow SMEs to get paid across borders and address shipment costs.
Zimbabwe is on the cusp of a digital transformation, with technology experts saying the country possesses immense potential and a solid foundation for harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive transformative development across sectors. Given the country’s robust education base, widening internet penetration, growing telecoms infrastructure investments, and a young population dividend with thousands of STEM graduates produced annually from universities and colleges, experts say Zimbabwe is firmly anchored to lead the digital innovation drive in the region. The Government, under its “Smart Zimbabwe 2030” vision, has already provided policy direction to ensure the successful adoption of digital technologies across key economic sectors.
In his presentation, Mr Ndaba from Zimpost said they are putting measures in place that will enable SMEs to have an online presence. The Zimbabwe Mall, an online platform, will allow SMEs to place their products there and use Zimpost to courier the products to different destinations.
“People used to trust Zimpost, and we want to preserve that,” said Mr Ndaba. “A lot of digital-centred products are being developed, and we also have some financial services working with local banks to facilitate easy transactions. We are also partnering with the Government as we work on improving the digital skills gap, and we introduced digital information centres.”
Zimpost’s core business now includes the provision of mail, financial, Government, e-post, and retail services, as well as acting as a communication centre countrywide. This mail service, among other products, is part of its information communication technology (ICT) strategy as it tries to remain relevant in the digital era.
In an interview, Zimbabwe Chamber of SMEs secretary general Mr Venencio Kurauone said the workshop is a critical one as it addresses one of the challenges SMEs face. He said SMEs have challenges that include market access and the digital skills gap.
“Being exposed to a 1,3 billion-person market means a lot; it means we are increasing our customer base and that means we can have value chain integration, where we can also partner with other SMEs in various countries on the continent,” said Mr Kurauone. “As Zimbabwe, we need to sharpen up now with the coming in of AfCFTA so that we can compete with other countries. On digital skills, we need to do more in terms of capacitating our SMEs to embrace digitisation and the changes that are coming in so that they can adopt and benefit from AfCFTA.”
SMEs have shown resilience as they continue to play a key role in the Zimbabwean economy, creating employment and contributing to economic growth. This has highlighted the need to prepare them for the AfCFTA, which brings together 54 African countries into a single market of 1,3 billion people and aims to boost intra-African trade by reducing tariffs and tackling barriers to cross-border business.
