WOMEN Affairs, Community, Small and Enterprises Development Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni Thursday presided over the graduation of three companies from the MSME category to large enterprises after reaching an annual turnover of US$1 million.
The confirmation took place at a graduation ceremony held in Harare presided over by Vice President, Constantino Chiwenga. A total 142 MSMEs were honored for excelling in different fields.
The informal sector is connected to the local and regional supply chains, thus creating a trading platform where millions of dollars exchange hands daily.
A 2018 study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discovered that 60% of the Zimbabwean economy is informal, second in the world to Bolivia's 62, 3%.
Speaking at the event, Nyoni said the graduation ceremony was a milestone in the country's pursuit to turn around abundant potential in the MSME sector.
"The category consists of SMEs who have graduated from medium to large enterprises. These are enterprises that have expanded their business operations categorised mainly based on the following key variables as defined in the SME Act 24:12;
"Full time paid employees exceeding 75, a total annual turnover exceeding US$1 million, a gross value of assets exceeding US$500 000 excluding immovable property," she said.
The trio includes Step In Style Private Limited in the clothing sector, Brita Chemicals Company detergents manufacturer, Tanroy Engineering (Pvt) Limited agro processing equipment manufacturer.
"MSMEs play an important role in the development of our economy as they have become a driving force in terms of employment creation, innovation, adaptability and have become the oil that is lubricating key value chains through supply of products and services to meet both the local and export markets," said Nyoni.
At the ceremony, seventeen more companies received more awards for excelling in various areas.
The development comes on the back of SME support from numerous government related institutions and other Civil Society institutions.
To this end, since the inception of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Foreign Exchange Auction platform, a total US$3,7 billion was allotted between mid- 2020 to December 2022, with MSMes sector being among the top beneficiaries.
