The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Online Correspondent
THE Bulawayo Entrepreneurs Foundation (BEF) has acquired an Inverted Box Rib (IRB) manufacturing machine worth US$10 000 as its members look towards entering the manufacturing sector.
This was revealed by BEF Director for Internal Affairs and also the Secretary-General, Mr Cainos Nkolomi during an interview with Sunday News Online.
The BEF said the association’s president Dr Nicholas Masuku had provided the funds needed to acquire a multi-industrial moulding machine which was bought from a local supplier last week.
BEF intends to start manufacturing IBR roofing products as soon as it has completed logistics to lease a factory in the city. The machine has the capacity to produce 200 sheets per hour.
This will be its first project in a series that is hoped will enable and empower local entrepreneurs to enter the manufacturing sector.
Mr Nkolomi said the acquisition is part of its mandate to assist its members to grow their businesses as well as provide access funding to acquire capital equipment.
“One of our founding principles is to capacitate our members to play a leading role in making Bulawayo the nation’s industrial capital once again. We want our members to have access to funding so that they can acquire capital equipment to make them serious players in the manufacturing sector. This is just the beginning for us,” Mr Nkolomi told Sunday News.
Dr Masuku confirmed the development saying he had chosen to take this route so that members can begin to benefit from their membership.
“I felt that instead of waiting for the organisation to access loans, we needed to get going so I acquire the machine to move things along. We are finalising a lease agreement for factory space and then we commission the machine and begin working,” said Dr Masuku.
The BEF has also embarked on a public awareness and fundraising drive as it gears towards capacitating local entrepreneurs.
Mr Nkolomi said his organisation has held a road show and a fundraising event to drum up support and membership.
He said the idea behind the road show was marketing and also a membership drive. Mr Nkolomi further noted that the BEF wanted to explain to the public the purpose of the organisation and its objectives.
“Last week we held a road show around the city in an effort to create an awareness within the public of who we are and what we want to achieve as an organisation,” Mr Nkolomi said.
“We have lined up a number of fund-raising events and last Saturday we held a stokvel fund raiser in Parklands where we met business people and individuals in a relaxed environment. Mixing business with pleasure so to speak,” he added.
Mr Nkolomi said they had chosen having a stokvel event so that they could appeal to every level of the social strata in the Bulawayo and eventually the rest of the country.
“If we had held a dinner event at a hotel, we would not have been able to attract the smaller business people who would have viewed this as elitist. We want the BEF to be all inclusive: all entrepreneurs big or small,” he said.
Mr Nkolomi said the response from the public during both the road show and the stokvel fundraiser had been overwhelming.
“People are willing to join us. The membership drive has been working very well and within two and half months, we now have over fifty members including three who are based in South Africa and are looking to invest in Zimbabwe.” @RealSimbaJemwa
