Treasury avails ZWL$150m for SMEs

RYAN CHIGOCHE

Treasury has provided ZWL$150m to the  Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development ministry towards the constructions of new workspaces amid indications that most small businesses have no decent market spaces, Business Times can report.

In a post-Cabinet briefing last week, Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services minister Monica Mutsvangwa (pictured) said the workspaces to be constructed are enough for approximately 310 businesses in three  local municipalities across the country.

The Women Affairs ministry has already engaged the Gweru, Gwanda, and Chikomba Municipalities to kickstart the construction of the new workspaces having seen the importance of the sector in terms of employment creation and economic development.

She said the new workspaces which are going to be constructed are going to house a total of 310 SMEs combined with four factory shells going to be built in Gweru alone, two vendor marts in Gwanda, and a 60bay factory shell in Chikomba.

“The Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development ministry has entered into agreements with three local authorities, namely: Gweru City Council; Chikomba Rural District Council; and Gwanda Municipality. In Gweru, the Ministry is working with the City Council to construct four micro, small and medium enterprise factory shells, which will house a total of 54 businesses,” Mutsvangwa said.

“In Gwanda, two vendor marts which will accommodate 56 enterprises in various trades, are being constructed in the Central Business District. In Chivhu, a factory shell with 60 bays is being constructed in Chikomba. The facility will house at least 200 SMEs undertaking manufacturing, processing, retailing, and repairs,” Mutsvangwa said.

The government pledged to construct decent workspaces for micro, small and medium enterprises as one of the key strategies to support their operations having noted the challenges the sector faces.

As a result, the government made a decision to have an accelerated programme to construct decent workspaces for the sector working in collaboration with local authorities to renovate existing or to put up new modern workspaces.

The workspaces will be constructed through public, private partnerships, while local authorities would provide serviced land.

Over the past few years, Zimbabwe has witnessed the emergence and growth of SMEs mainly due to the high levels of unemployment and the growth of the informal sector.

The SMEs have mushroomed in various sectors of the economy ranging from farming to information and technology.

Last week, the government through the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare expedited the formalisation process of SMEs which are yet to be registered.

The SME sector now employs over 60% of Zimbabwe’s productive workforce, contributes to over 50% of GDP, and constitutes of 70% of business in Zimbabwe.