Staff Writer
ZB Financial Holdings will this Saturday hold MSMEs Expo in Midlands province at Gweru Sports Club.
The expo is part of ZB Financial Holdings’ strategies to support the development and growth of the MSME sector so that Vision 2030 becomes a reality.
This is done through forging financial partnership, bridging the gaps between SMEs and resources so they thrive for instance provision of access to capital, mentorship, and resources enabling SMEs to scale and thrive.
The Government, guided by the strategic pillars outlined in the MSMEs Policy Framework (2020-2024) is implementing several interventions to promote the development and growth of the sector including:
- Supporting access to finance through various empowerment funds under the Ministry and promoting the development of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOS) as alternative sources of funding for small businesses. It is pleasing to note that financial institutions have established SME windows to provide targeted financial support to the sector.
- Facilitating access to markets for MSMEs in collaboration with ZimTrade by enabling their participation in local, regional, and international exhibition and trade promotion events.
- Providing business and technical skills training to empower MSMEs in managing and expanding their businesses.
- Partnering with the Standards bodies in promoting the adoption of standards and product certification to improve the safety, quality and competitiveness of MSMEs products in local, regional and international markets.
- Facilitating formalisation of MSMEs through business registration in collaboration with Registrar of Companies.
Registering, training and development of various Cooperatives in the country.
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector continues to play a crucial role in Zimbabwe’s economy, accounting for over 60% of the country’s economic activity.
MSMEs are significantly contributing to employment in the country with 4,8 million people employed on full time basis (MSME Survey 2021) and contributing to USD 7.8 billion to GDP (Finscope MSME Survey 2022).
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