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Midlands Bureau Chief
THE smell of paint and glue pervades the place which is a hive of activity as each person is busy at their  workstation.

There are welders working on different pieces of metal and next to them are carpenters working on beds, cupboards and other pieces of furniture.

This is Mkoba Six Shopping Centre where more than 1 000 men and women are engaged in activities such as tailoring, welding, carpentry, brick moulding and shoe making.

Men and women in work suits are busy at their respective workstations as they work to produce different products.

The shopping centre is the biggest in Mkoba suburb in Gweru and has attracted informal sector workers from various trades.

Some of the workers have fingers encrusted with small flakes of paint and shirts covered by sawdust as they transform wood, steel and foam rubber into furniture for sale.

Some work in sheds made of planks or metal roofing sheets while others are out in the open.

There are hundreds others who are into selling second hand clothes a distance from the shops.

Zimbabwe’s informal economy is growing at a fast rate as it is gradually becoming the largest employer.
A 2020 Labour Force Survey shows that approximately 90 percent of the economically active population aged 18 years and above work in the informal economy.

The manufacturing sector was the most protected sector before the trade reforms and the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAPS).

Liberalisation has had the greatest impact on the economy with the mushrooming of the informal Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

The SMEs at Mkoba 6 are diversified as they engage in different manufacturing activities including but not limited to carpentry, textiles, shoemaking, and toiletries production.

Mr Vunganai Makusha is one of the informal workers and has been engaged in welding for more than seven years.

He makes gates, window and door frames among other products and says he has been able to fend for his family.

Mr Makusha said Mkoba Six Shopping centre has been his home and other people involved in a variety of jobs.

“I do welding and have been here for seven years. Yes, I am able to fend for my family, I am able to pay rentals and meet other expenses from welding,” he said in an interview yesterday.

Mr Makusha said the problem was of working space.

“We don’t have enough space. As you can see some of the finished products like those sliding gates are in someone’s yard. That’s someone’s space. We are also forced to work by the roadside but otherwise we are surviving,” he said.

Mr Daniel Chikwata who moulds bricks said the centre is proving to be the source of income for many SMEs.

“I am into brick moulding and I am taking advantage of the boom in housing construction here and surrounding areas. People come here to buy bricks and I have been kept busy due to high demand,” he said.

Mr Chikwata said SMEs face a lot of challenges especially to do with financing.

“Banks require collateral to give us loans of which many of the people here don’t have. Many are renting houses where they are staying so they have no collateral,” he said.

Mrs Alvina Nyathi a tailor said she is sending her two children to school through her work.

“I failed my O-levels but I did very well in sewing. I am able to do cutting and designing of any school uniform. I have clients mostly parents who want school uniforms, tracksuits and anoraks. Business at this shopping centre can be brisk especially towards opening of schools,” she said.

A resident from Mkoba Three suburb Mr Ishmael Khoza said he was worried about the safety of residents at the shopping centre.

“There is a smell of paint and glue all over the place and we are also subjected to welding fumes.

The paint they spray in open spaces is dangerous to people’s health and so are the welding fumes.

These  people should work from factory shells as is the case in the Shamrock area adjacent Mambo suburb,” he said.

Zimbabwe Chamber for Small-to-Medium Enterprises Gweru chapter chairperson Mr Tafadzwa Mazorodze said Mkoba 6 shopping centre is proving to be an economic enabler for hundreds of SMEs.

He said there are also shops for SMEs at Mkoba 6 aimed at availing working space for people to operate from.

“The SMEs sector is growing everyday and these people need clean and safe environments to operate from. That’s why there are shops for them but they are not enough for everyone. You find each one doing his business such as welding or carpentry encroaching into another’s space,” he said.

SME are faced with significant challenges, the most common being the high cost of credit, lack of information and complex lending procedures.