The Sunday Mail
Enacy Mapakame – Business Reporter
MANY small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe are holding their own in an economy that is poisoned by soft consumer demand and acute liquidity shortages.
Currently, SMEs are picking up new contracts at home and abroad, creating new jobs and putting their skills to effective good use while the mainstream industry has been brought to its knees by the economy’s ills.
This was largely on show at the International SMEs Expo 2014 that was held in Harare last week.
From arts and craft to detergent manufacturing, small businesses are forging ahead, but not without limitations.
Lack of access to information and funding is seriously limiting their production.
SMEs that spoke to The Sunday Mail Business during the Expo said they were capable of replacing imports, adding value and beneficiating raw materials in line with the aspirations espoused in the economic blueprint, Zim-Asset.
They said they had adequate skills to produce world-class goods for the export market but lack of funding was proving costly.
A Chitungwiza-based organisation, Kusimudzirana Women’s Trust, registered barely two years ago, said they had secured markets in France, Egypt, China, Dubai, Botswana and South Africa to supply arts and crafts artifacts, mushrooms, flowers and herbs, but funding difficulties had seriously affected its plans.
“We are a group of women with different skills who came together to empower ourselves and our communities. We have all the expertise to produce different goods that meet international standards, but we lack funding to market and supply our wares to the intended markets.
“Right now we have secured markets in France; they want our mushrooms and herbs but we lack capacity to supply enough stocks and travel expenses. If we get the money, we can create more employment through our projects,” said the Trust’s project co-ordinator Ms Loveness Kapfudza.
The Trust has over 1 000 women who are into horticulture, basket weaving, construction, sewing, stone and wood sculpture. It also offers skills training.
To meet the France market needs alone, the Trust, which currently relies on its members for funding, would require half a million dollars.
And like many other upcoming businesses, Ms Kapfudza said they were not aware of the procedures to be followed to access Government funding to build their projects into big and viable businesses.
“We feel we are marginalised by banks and micro-finance companies. When we approach them, we are either given too little or they ask for collateral, even when we have good business proposals.
“If we get money to attend international expos, we could boost our businesses unlike when foreigners come here,” she said.
She added that foreign buyers coming to Zimbabwe had exploitative tendencies that were detrimental to business.
In most cases, they would just break even or incur losses.
Another small enterprise producing industrial and domestic cleaning detergents, Guardian Cleaners, said the sector had great potential. All it requires is financial support.
“If one has a good project, ready market and shows great potential to grow, someone should take the risk of funding it so that it grows, and that has to be Government taking that lead role.
“The problem is even Government has no money,” said Guardian Cleaners operations director Ms Lorraine Mutseekwa.
She added that information was being channelled to the wrong audience, missing the intended SMEs with some professing ignorance on the existence of Government’s Small to Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO), formerly SEDCO.
The SMEs International Expo 2014 was held from October 22 to October 24, drawing participants from across the country’s 10 provinces.
There were also regional and international exhibitors who expressed hope of clinching lucrative deals.
Kenyan exhibitor Ms Irene Wanjiku Maina said the SMEs expo was her second time to exhibit in Zimbabwe after the Harare Agriculture Show.
She has realised good business as a result.
“There is good business here. We create contacts and learn from each other. People need to be taught on how to use readily available resources like wood to make artefacts. There is no need to import the raw materials when there are plenty of resources,” she said, showing off some bags and jewellery made of wood and bones.
“When we eat meat, we don’t throw away bones, we make products for sale,” she said.
Mwanza Enterprises, a Murehwa-based arts and craft SME, said more international expos were welcome in the sector as they afforded them new business opportunities.
“Last year we got new business from as far as the USA, Australia and China. Our products are now known world over,” said Mwanza Enterprises founder Mrs Jane Manhamo Mwanza.
The past decade has had its fair share of challenges, both economic and political, which have threatened the existence of companies from all sectors of the economy.
High inflation, foreign currency shortages, lack of investor confidence and liquidity crunch are some of the major constraints that distressed companies, leading to scaled down operations, subsequently resulting in massive retrenchments.
This created an opportunity for SMEs to grow, bridging the gap left by big and established companies.
The sector now cannot be ignored as it provides around 70 percent of employment and contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
An enabling environment for the sector is crucial to ensure its further growth.
