Published by the government of Zimbabwe
20 October 2009
Harare — THE country's small and medium-sized enterprises hold immense potential for growth as the country tries to turn around the economy, a senior official with a leading technology firm has said.
Panasonic West managing director Mr Steve Tetluk told delegates to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual convention held in South Africa last week that there were 'enormous' opportunities for SMEs in Zimbabwe, despite the many challenges the country was facing.
He noted that while volumes had dropped significantly for its business, which distributes Panasonic equipment, in South Africa, its business in Zimbabwe had grown significantly, providing Panasonic West with additional revenues during the global and local economic downturn. Mr Tetluk said everybody could not just sit and wait on the sidelines for the Zimbabwean economy to improve, some had to participate in improving the economic conditions in that country.
"While corporates would struggle to be profitable in Zimbabwe, SMEs could be very profitable.
"Zimbabweans had low personal debt levels and once proper salaries returned, disposable incomes would explode," he said.
Mr Tetluk emphasised that while it was not easy to do business in Zimbabwe, it was also not easy to do business in South Africa currently, given the local economic slowdown. The SME sector accounts for about 80 percent of the business being done in the economy.
The sector has been a refuge for thousands of people that lost their jobs during the past decade in which the country experienced massive economic difficulties underpinned by hyperinflation.
However, despite the dominance of the sector in the economy, most of the businesses have remained largely informal thereby limiting the sector's contribution to the growth of the economy and revenue collection base.
In recognition of the immense potential that the sector has and also the benefits that other developing countries such as India are deriving from the sector, the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development has been on a drive to ensure that all businesses in the sector are registered.
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