The Sunday News
Roberta Katunga, Senior Business Reporter
THE Small and Medium Enterprises banking and micro-finance summit is set to outline opportunities and strategies within agribusiness, showcasing how the smallholder farmers are attracting good returns for the financial sector.
Speaking on the 4th edition to be held in April, Deat Capital director Mr Nicky Moyo said this year’s focus on agribusiness was decided after considering the role of the sector in the country’s growth and economic development.
Deat Capital are the organisers of the summit which will be held in Harare in April.
“Various studies have shown that most of the success stories in tobacco and other crops are from SMEs and agriculture is the key engine in the economy,” said Mr Moyo. He said this year’s summit will be based on the theme
“Financing agribusiness SMEs and value chain development.”
Mr Moyo said the country’s economic blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) had identified Micro to Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as playing a vital role in economic development by increasing competition, fostering innovation and generating employment.
“MSMEs generate jobs much faster than big companies and are more inclusive in terms of development. Financial institutions can benefit from this sector as it is a lucrative business through attracting good returns.
“This is a good platform to outline opportunities and strategies as well as showcase what can be achieved through partnership between SMEs and financiers,” said Mr Moyo.
In the country, the unbanked and uninsured market is estimated at more than $2 billion.
Survey data from various studies demonstrate that some banks, microfinance and insurance firms have begun to target SMEs as a profitable segment of the economy.
Mr Moyo said the aim of the conference was to bring to the fore issues related to the financing of entrepreneurial firms, and to explore various institutional, legal, and financial sector developments that affect the creation of such firms, their rate of success, the dynamism of incumbent firms, and their contribution to economic development.
“The conference will also focus on understanding the role of agriculture value chains and integration of entrepreneurs, various intermediaries, institutional investors, and financial markets in broad based economic development of the country. Of special interest is the effect of alternative forms of financing such as debt and equity on the creation and success of entrepreneurial firms.”
