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Cde Khaya Moyo

Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
AMBASSADOR Simon Khaya Moyo, the Senior Minister of State in the President’s Office yesterday called on banks to prioritise financing small to medium enterprises (SMEs) saying the growth of the sector was key towards achieving meaningful economic development and job creation.

Delivering a keynote address at a workshop attended by more than 100 SMEs in Harare, Ambassador Khaya Moyo said adequate financing for the sector was critical in ensuring their growth and contribution to the national economy.

“Financing is one of the major challenges faced by SMEs. It is therefore important for banks to take up this challenge whilst SMEs take advantage of various products offered by financial institutions in the country,” he said.

“It is quite refreshing to note that we have within our financial services industry players that have enthusiastically seen merit in assisting small industries grow, prosper and finally graduate into large industries.

“This embrace should certainly make a huge impact on employment generation and an improvement in the quality of lives of the general population.”

Ambassador Khaya Moyo said the workshop, which ran under the theme, “Enhancing value addition by SMEs and cooperatives through innovation and technology” was in line with the ideals of the government’s economic blue-print, Zim-Asset.

“The theme emphasises the importance of innovation with the use of technology among micro, small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in transforming the Zimbabwean economy. The theme is in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation’s provision for employment creation and poverty reduction,” he said.

Ambassador Khaya Moyo said the graduation of SMEs from one level to another was not an event but a process that entails many issues.
“SMEs are said to have graduated from one level to the next if they have attained or surpassed certain thresholds in terms of employment levels (1-75) depending on the sector, turnover (up to $3 million) and asset base of up to $2 million excluding immovable assets.

“The fulfilment of the threshold condition is necessary but not sufficient for as the government we are saying in addition to the above, the business should be run in a formal way, implying that it has to be registered through the registrar of companies or licensed under the local authority,” he said.

Ambassador Khaya Moyo said outside Africa Unity Square in Harare, there were more than 100 SMEs and more than 15 cooperatives exhibiting their wares at the workshop.

“These enterprises are drawn from timber processors, engineering enterprises, manufacturers of building materials, leather products manufacturers and honey processors among others,” he said.

Ambassador Khaya Moyo urged companies to embrace modern technology saying innovation was essential in reducing the transaction costs while being an integral part of the fast –moving information communication technology sector, which is critical for the successful implementation of Zim-Asset.