Formalising MSMEs key to Bulawayo’s inclusive and sustainable urban development
The city of Bulawayo is pushing towards sustainable and inclusive urban development through the promotion of MSMEs in the formal sector, according to Bulawayo City Council Town Planning Director, Wisdom Siziba.
Speaking on the sidelines of the MSMEs workshop on Monday 02 October in Bulawayo, Siziba echoed the sentiment and stressed the importance of formality for the future of the city and stated that this move towards formality would enable the citizens to operate their businesses in an orderly manner and facilitate incubation of graduates.
“The future of the city is in the micro, small and medium enterprises sector,” states Siziba. He further added, “Once these small businesses get incubated, they can grow and become the future picking customers for tech industries. The city aims to provide facilities for better functioning of these businesses as well as market linkages to help them in expanding.”
Manufacturing
“We hope the MSMEs sector can manufacture components for big industries, so that they become the market for those industries,” Siziba noted.
He also emphasised the potential for MSMEs to generate sustainable income for the country and contribute to preventing the importation of goods.
BCC Town Planning department official, Shelton Sithole highlighted that the city’s vision is to create a safe and fully equipped market for visitors, including safe workspaces with proper infrastructure. The city is pushing towards MSMEs, covering aspects such as infrastructural provision, market linkages, and entrepreneurship training.
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Building Capacity
“We anticipate the culture and relationship with all our development partners and the US government,” Sithole stated.
To help these businesses, Acting Bulawayo Provincial Officer for Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Clayton Mharadzano has expressed the ministry’s vision to bring awareness and build capacity in the informal sectors.
Mharadzano added, “Our vision is to achieve an upper middle economy by making a clear transition from the informal sector to the formal sector. We are working towards providing safe and secure market spaces with all the necessary facilities.”
“We believe that we can all achieve our vision if there is a clear transition from the informal sector to the formal sector,” Clayton highlighted.
Development Partners
To achieve this, the city is working with different development partners, one of which is the African Development Bank.
Mharadzano mentioned, “We need to work together and adopt a stakeholder approach, which would be beneficial for all. By working together, we can create more strategies and open more avenues to manage and minimise the level of informality in the city.”
The city’s vision for inclusive and sustainable urban development relies on promoting formal MSMEs, encouraging entrepreneurship, and creating safe spaces and markets for them to operate. As the city continues to push towards these visions, it is hoped that more development partners will join in the effort to create a thriving economy for Bulawayo and the country.
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