Harnessing SMEs for economic growth

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4 steps to becoming entrepreneurs P4 Role of banks in developing SMEs P10

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

unlocking economic potential

by Chrissie Bauleni, Blantyre-based entrepreneur

1. Beram Security 2. SMEDI 3. Business Finance 4. B Square 5. Steel Touch 6. Cable Manufacturers 7. Kwithu Kitchen 8. National Bank of Malawi 9. Zuri Investment
SMEs are a key to economic growth of any country

Harnessing SMEs for economic growth

N
ext year is important for two things. Malawi will for the first time be conducting tripartite elections. 2014 is also important because the country will be celebrating its 50th birthday. Despite clocking 50, Malawi seems not to have achieved much economically. The country is still looking up to donors to finance about 40 percent of its national budget. Donorsmajor ones being our former colonial masters are still issuing orders on what we should do or not do. In essence, Malawi is politically and not economically independent. By this time, Malawi ought to have grown and be running its own affairs. A man of 50 is old enough to provide for his family and not rely on his father or mother to do so. If that happens, then something is terribly wrong with the man. At 50, Malawi is still grappling with widespread poverty and failing to generate enough jobs for its people. What is wrong with Malawi? Malawians need a mindset overhaul. Most of parents send their children to school to become employees not employers. This is where Malawian parents differ with their Asian counterparts. Think about this! If all Malawian children go to school to become salaried employees, who will create jobs for others? If we do not create employment for ourselves through small and medium enterprises (SMEs), then foreigners will not only employ us, but also control our wealth PAGE 3

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Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Gabe Newell are successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college to pursue their dreams.

FACTS

Carlos Salim is richest entrepreneur in the world with net wealth estimated at $70 billion

PHOTOGRAPH: Nation Library

The following are institutions that are playing a critical role in promoting small and medium-scale enterprises in Malawi:

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

special essay

unlocking economic potential

Developing Malawi through SMEs

PAGE 2 and externalise it at will. Renowned American entrepreneur, Warren Buffet, once said Americans should control the wealth of America because the day America allows foreigners to control its wealth, then the destiny of America is sold. No foreigner, no matter how long he has lived here, will develop Malawi. Malawi will be developed by Malawians. How can we turn around Malawis fortunes? Malawi should change its education systemwhich is essentially programmed to train employees and not employersto something that stimulates the entrepreneurial spirit. China was not different from Malawi in 1964. Today, China is a force to reckon and Malawi is looking up to it for aid. Sad! There is something in Chinese culture and education system that reveres and encourages hard work and entrepreneurship, hence Chinas prosperity. Malawi should not ask China for stadiums, but technology to exploit and maximise the use of its natural resources. Malawi needs to encourage creative and innovative minds and not arrest them when they come up with community radios. What we need to do is to manage how they use them. William Kamkwamba, the Kasungu boy famed for harnessing wind, is celebrated more in the West than here. This is sad and smacks poverty mentality. Creativity, innovativeness and risk taking are characteristics of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is the process of making money, earning profits and increasing wealth while posing characteristics such as risk taking, management, leadership and innovation. There is a general presumption, particularly in the West that entrepreneurship, especially SMEs are valuable for growth, innovation and development of national economies. A 2003 study by Eakin and Kao also suggests as much. The study found that increasing the birth rate of firms also raises productivity levels in national economies. Nystrom (2008) reviews all the evidence and concludes that a majority of the studies on the relationship between entrepreneurship and aggregate economic growth find a positive relationship. But for entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship needs to be instilled in pupils from primary school

Men making a pop corn machine in Chirimba, Blantyre

to have sustainable positive effects needs supportive policy frameworks and government support. Malawi has not done well in entrepreneurship and consequently remained poor and backward because it lacks a good policy framework and political will to support SMEs. Other factors that continue to frustrate SMEs include corruption, high interest rates, high taxes on equipment, intermittent power and water supply, lack of technologies and poor communication. One just hopes President Joyce Banda, an entrepreneur herself, will turn around the situation to ensure the business climate for SMEs is conducive.

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Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

unlocking economic potential

FEATURES

An entrepreneur needs to assess market opportunities

A man painting a vehicle at a garage in Chitawira

4 steps to becoming entrepreneurs

A
s many people start or consider starting businesses, it is important to understand core steps required to launch successful business ventures. These steps include spotting, assessing, selecting and exploiting opportunities. entrepreneurs cannot second-guess themselves. To do so would lessen their focus and drive towards the selected opportunity, both of which are critical in achieving success. 4. E x p l o i t i n g opportunities Execution or the ability to generate the most value out of an opportunity requires a unique combination of creativity, passion, persistence, focus, responsibility, intelligence, planning and energy. The entrepreneur needs to know what tasks must be accomplished and be the main driver in seeing that these tasks are completed in an appropriate manner. Having an expertly written business plan will allow the entrepreneur to see the outline of the actions that must been taken to ensure success. Understanding the four steps to entrepreneurship enables entrepreneurs to better understand the path that they are embarking upon. It is a path filled with potential pitfalls, but also filled with tremendous excitement, satisfaction and potential to build enormous value. 1. Spotting opportunities The first step to entrepreneurship is identifying opportunities. The entrepreneur must be able to spot an unmet need. Oftentimes, this need is seen through inefficiency in the market something that does not work quite the way the entrepreneur would like it to. As a result, the entrepreneur figures out a potential solution and the opportunity is born.

2. Assessing opportunities Entrepreneurs keep a journal that details opportunities they come across each day. While it takes a creative skill set to identify opportunities, it takes an analytical skill set to assess them. Each opportunity should be assessed to, among others, determine its likelihood of

A man polishing his curios at Cape Maclear in Mangochi

success and the financial and human resources required to execute it. 3. Selecting opportunities One of the biggest risks in selecting the wrong opportunity is opportunity costthat is, the cost of having to forego another opportunity that might have been wildly successful. Entrepreneurs should assess their potential opportunities and come to a firm decision regarding which one to exploit. Once selected, the

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Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

unlocking economic potential

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NBM geared to support SMEs growth

mall and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs are the backbone of every economy including Malawissupporting economic growth, creating employment opportunities and improving peoples livelihood. Since the dawn of multiparty democracy, Malawi has seen gradual growth of SMEs over the years. However, it is generally recognised that Malawian enterprises face unique challenges which affect their potential, hence diminish their ability to contribute effectively to the countries sustainable development. Most enterprises and entrepreneurs in Malawi face challenges which include lack of managerial skills, unsupportive business policies and regulatory environment, market competition, fast technological advancement, poor infrastructure, lack of market information and industry

Yamikani Bobe NBM marketing and business information officer

standards and inadequate capital and access to finance. NBM appreciates that the SME sector is growing fast and contributing a lot to the countrys gross domestic product (GDP), job creation and contribution to tax purse. NBM knows what SMEs face to realise their full potential. The banks SME Business Finance has been designed to help SMEs with a means to augment working capital, fund capex requirements and provide them with a platform to access trade facilitation instruments such as letters of credit, guarantees and bonds. Definition of SME Business Finance SME Business Finance is defined as the provision financial support to small and medium size business customers (companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships) whose: Annual trading turnover is K5 million to K100 million, and; Facilities requirements do

not exceed K100 million They may be sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited companies and registered informal bodies. SMEs accessing these facilities can be those that are running an existing business or intend to run a business which is well supported through a sound business proposal and vetted potential as long as their sector of operation does not fall under the banks negative list and provided where the business falls under red flagged areas, it is well mitigated. The following businesses qualify for funding from the bank: Construction industry, food industry, tourism industry (hotels, lodges, resorts, rest houses, and restaurants), private education sector, agriculture sector, general vending, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) wholesalers, retail shops, perishable goods processing, exporters of products with long term relationships and differentiated products, transportation, medical care providers and bakery.

Credit facilities under SME Business Finance Overdraft or cash facilities 1. Loan short term, medium term and long term loans 2. Letters of credit 3. Guarantees, bonds and Indemnities by bank 4. Assignment of invoice proceeds Improvements to SME policy 1. Provision of credit facilities to new customers of the bank observation period reduced to six months provided that the customer has furnished the bank with bank statements from other banks and the bank is able to obtain satisfactory status report and the customer has been in same business line for a period of more than one year. 2. Clean lending subject to provision for business track record 3. Facilities available to SMEs expounded to include:

i. Mortgage and property improvement. ii. Asset based financing iii. Leasing facilities iv. Project financing of up to K100 million. v. Supporting banking Products electronic Banking, current and investment accounts and forex. vi. Provision of pay day loans to confirmed SMEs employees The bank is also offering a diverse range of secure and safe E- Banking products to easily facilitate SMEs transactions such as Visa POS machines which can be placed in restaurants or FCMG merchant shops etc, electronic funds transfers via Mo626Ice or Internet banking platform Banknet to remotely monitor account transaction lastly electronic salary processing for SMEs employees to mention. NB will continue to bring out new innovative products to bridge the financial challenges SMEs face hence saving them both Time and Money.

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

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unlocking economic potential

Yuda shows some of his products

Entrepreneur finds gold in welding

Christopher Jimu Staff Reporter
alton Yuda is one of young men who have succeeded against all odds. When he dropped out of school in Standard Seven due to financial constraints, he lost hope that he will amount to anything in life. But God had something in store for him. Yuda, who comes from Balaka, was offered a place at Andiamo to learn bricklaying. After completing his education, he realised that welding was more lucrative than bricklaying. I saw a huge opportunity in welding than in bricklaying because of the increasing demand for gates, door and window frames. When I moved to Lilongwe in 2005, I continued to work as a bricklayer, but my fortunes changed when a friend taught me welding, says Yuda. Despite having the skill, he lacked equipment to effectively

work as a welder so he trekked to South Africa to work and raise money for welding machines. Gods granted his prayers. When he came back in 2009, Yuda had a complete welding machine and he opened a shop near Mchesi Primary School in Lilongwe. I bought the welding machine at K300 000 and within six months, I expanded my shop because of huge profits I was making, he says. Yuda offers employment to seven people and he says he is now a free man because he is his own boss. I make over K90 000 in a month, but the problem is that some customers are untrustworthy. They come in posh vehicles to collect my door and window frames, but they fail to pay you, he says. Yuda says most people like his goods because they are affordable. He advises fellow young entrepreneurs not to despair as God, at an appointed time, will see them through their challenges.

Juda gets down to business

PHOTOGRAPHs: CHRISTOPHER JIMU

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

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Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

unlocking economic potential

FEATURES

Role of banks in developing SMEs

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BRENDA TWEA Staff Reporter
alawi has 758 118 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owners, owning about one million (987 480) businesses and employing about 1.1 million people (excluding the owners themselves), according to the 2012 Malawi MSME survey results. The turnover of the sector, according to the survey, was estimated at K326 billion. But a competitive and innovative MSME sector holds keys to higher income growth, optimal employment of domestic resources, more gainful integration through regional trade and investment and greater equity in access, distribution and development. Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Nkombezi, says financial institutions have also realised the importance of SMEs and they have become more responsive to their needs. Some banks have special departments to serve SMEs. This means banks have now realised that SMEs have distinct needs to those of big corporations. What is also more exciting is that some banks are now offering collateral-free loans to SMEs, says Nkombezi. NBS Bank, for example, has a fully fledged department to cater for the needs of SMEs, according to the banks SME and women banking manager Esnat Nchembe. This department has units in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu. We support SMEs through the provision of suitable bank accounts. For instance, NBS Bank has SME Savings Account, Business Women Savings Account, Chiperegano Investment and Loans. All these have low minimum balance compared to other accounts. For businesses that are just starting, NBS Bank has Eazympamba account with a minimum balance of K500, she says. Nchembe says the bank also offers business management training and advisory services to SMEs. We also help them with working capital and asset investment loans to grow their businesses, she says. James Manda, chairperson of the National Small and Medium Enterprises (Nasme) board, confirms that some banks provide loans to SMEs as well as business management advisory services. Nixon William, 38, is one of the beneficiaries of NBS support to SMEs.

A businessperson withdrawing money from an ATM machine

William runs Van General Suppliers, a hardware shop in Blantyre Central Business District. His romance with NBS Bank dates back five years ago when he was a vendor at Blantyre Flea Market, selling hardware materials. Five years ago as we were selling our items at the flea market, an official from NBS Bank came to my bench and asked challenges I used to encounter. I told him that access to capital was a challenge and he told me that NBS offers loans aimed at boosting SMEs. We had a fruitful discussion and the bank gave me a loan of K500 000. Later, I got K1 million then K2 million, says William who started his business in 1998 with a capital of less than K5 000. He still maintains a shop at

Banks rates measure the performance of the economy

the flea market and admits his business has really grown with the support from NBS Bank. William imports his items from Dar es salaam, Johannesburg and China. He says with more support, he will be able to build his own shop and grow his business further. Nasme Central Region chairperson, William Nkhono, however, bemoans the exorbitant interest rates banks charge on loans. These high lending rates are killing businesses. Apart from that, most of the banks take long to approve loans and they only do that with collateral. Yet most of SMEs have no fixed assets such as houses. This makes it difficult to access loans from these financial institutions, says Nkhono. NBS Bank also sponsors SME to participate in workshops, especially those aimed at enhancing networking and business knowledge. Umodzi Consulting managing consultant, Tione Kaonga, emphasised the need for banks to partner business development service providers to promote entrepreneurship through provision of business advisory services. This would allow SMEs to improve their operations and manage their risks and in the long run, earn more profits to enable them to service bank loans, he says. SMEs are an important channel for poverty alleviation through economic empowerment and participation, especially for women, the youth and the marginalised sections of society. SMEs in most countries have not received the necessary attention to enable them to start, grow and diversifythat is why they continue to face challenges.

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Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

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Christopher Jimu Staff Reporter

unlocking economic potential

t a time when many Malawians are quitting businesses due to tough economic climate, Lilongwebased Davie Botie is full of confidence that his businesses will thrive to the extent of opening more shops in all the three regions of the country. The 30-year-old Botie, who has a Masters degree from Uhani University of Technology in China, says he ventured into business after seeing how enterprenuership turned around peoples fortunes in China. Under Zuri Investments is a clothing shop, a building and construction company as well as a furniture. I had a chance of pursuing further studies in China in 2010 and I learnt how to combine business and formal employment. Currently, I am working as an administrator at IITA, Chitedze, and the experience that I am gaining will put me in a good position to conduct my businesses with ease, says Botie. He says he brought with him a lot of clothes from China and after selling them, he made a huge profit which enabled him to venture into business. In 2012, when I came back home from China, I brought with me a lot of clothes which after selling made me to go back to China to order more. Since then, I have increased the number of customers and the future looks bright, said Botie. As a sign that his business is on the right footing, Botie has managed to open a shop in Lilongwes Old Town opposite NBS Bank, next to MSB. In the shop, there are assorted clothes for both men and women. We stock high quality suits, dresses, shirts, shoes, wedding accessories, perfumes and

Zuri Investments: Your building products and furniture source

jewellery. Our prices are very competitive and we allow laybye on all items, said Botie. Apart from the clothes, Botie also sells sofa sets, coffee tables, rags, dining sets, office furniture, TV stands and many more imported household equipment. I knew that if I only concentrate on clothes, it will be like putting all eggs in one basket, hence my decision to diversify and grow my business into sectors such construction industry, says Botie. Under the construction industry, Botie sells tiles, ceiling boards, jaccuzi, bath tabs, kitchen units, doors, toilet sets, roofing materials, iron sheets and other material required when building houses. On how he manages his time, Botie says he leant the skill when he was young and is able to harmonise his work and business life. I am a professional. When it is time for office work, you will find me at the office and when it is time for my business, I also work hard to complete all my tasks outside the company time, says Botie. His main challenge is the stiff competition in the clothing sector, but he is hopeful that he will surmount the challenge because he only brings quality stuff. In future, he plans to open shops in all the three cities of Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba. Botie has just married his love, Yandura, and he hopes this will help him to have focus in life and make better decisions because of the advice from his better half. Zuri offers the best prices on all materials and terms of payment are negotiable and we are challenging those building houses, those who want to fit furniture into their houses and those looking for trendy clothes to contact us at our office in Lilongwes Old Town near MSB Bank, say Botie.

Davie and Yandura Botie

PHOTOGRAPH: COURTSEY OF ZURI

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Christopher Jimu Staff Reporter
Steel Touch managing director Andrew Chalamanda and technical director Nicodemus Sankhulani say they are ready to compete with any institution manufacturing steel products in the country because their items are durable and of high quality. In an interview in Lilongwe Chalamanda and Sankhulani said they started Steel Touch Furniture because they saw a gap in steel furniture as most companies were into wood furniture manufacturing while the few that were in steel only assembled ready made imported products from the Far East. We discovered that a number of customers were complaining about the imported products in terms of durability and quality despite paying a lot of money. Having done our research, we discovered that we could make it big on the market only if we produced high quality products, said Chalamanda. Chalamanda said since they started the company in 2012, they have noted that there is a lot of potential on the market because there are times, they

unlocking economic potential

Steel Touch Furniture putting smiles on Malawians faces

failed to satisfy demand for their products, especially household items. The company which started with only six employees now has 21 on its payroll and when demand is high, casual labourers are offered short contracts. Apart from the casual laborers, the company also offers internship to students from technical colleges who come in as apprentices to be trained in their respective fields. Sankhulani said the company has been steadily growing from a small business that was meant to just support them as an IGA into an established company. The first operation started from my house in Mchesi and having operated for close to a year, we moved to a rented place along the famous Mchesi furniture road in City Printers House. In our quest to grow, we have relocated to a bigger and spacious place along Blantytre Road next to St John Secondary School, in a building that used to house the Evangelical Lutheran Development Service, said Sankhulani. As a sign of excellence, the company participated at a trade fair organised by Nasme at Game Park in Lilongwe where they were voted the best manufacturers. Some of the challenges the company faces include pricing, untrustworthy middlemen, tough contract conditions, financing as well as copycats. On pricing, Chalamanda says to penetrate the market, they have at times tried to reduce their profit margin to low levels and it becomes difficult when a customer takes a long time to settle a payment as that affects their cash flow. There are times we have worked with untrustworthy middle men (agents) as subcontractors and it really becomes a challenge as they dont understand the need to fulfill a contract despite them having already pocketed money from the customers, said Chalamanda. On contract conditions, he says some contracts by government and other institutions are not flexible which puts small scale companies at a big disadvantage. For instance, there was a contract whereby government was looking for school desks and yet there was a need for a bid security amounting to K16 000 000 and one wonders how can small companies like ours can get that money from, chipped in Sankhulani. The company manufactures school furniture, hospital beds, hotel furniture and also household furniture such as beds, bunk beds, dining sets and garden chairs. All these are made from steel and sometimes combined with wood In future, the company plans to open a proper showroom in the heart of the city for easy accessibility by its customers. Sankhulani was at one time employed by Mapanga Furniture as workshop manager whereas Chalamanda worked as finance manager at EveryChild Malawi.

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Kwithu Kitchen shining with fresh tomatoes

ntrepreneurship, hard work and women are the core of a new business located in Mzuzu, Malawi. Kwithu Kitchen, a wholly women owned foodprocessing cooperative, recently introduced its first product to the marketgarden fresh tomatoes. And, its receiving rave reviews. The tomatoes are ready to use, making it quick and easy to create delicious food. Consumers who have tasted the product comment on how they retain the great flavour and texture of fresh tomatoes and are impressed by the long shelf life. They are also naturally high in vitamins and antioxidants and as an

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unlocking economic potential

added benefit, there is zero waste you can use the entire contents of each jar. Jacintha Jere, chairperson of the cooperative, said: Businesses such as Kwithu Kitchen are the future local products, made by local people. Im particularly proud that every sale of our tomatoes supports programmes for vulnerable children at KWG. KWG, a local community-based organisation was formed in 2004 to help children from the community of Luwinga. Although the women started smallfeeding only a handful of children once a week they dreamed big.

Today, KWG provides hot meals to over 200 children three times a week, offers early childhood education, after-school tutoring, community outreach programmes and secondary school scholarships. Jere says Kwithus journey toward manufacturing was born out of a desire to be independent. We were tired of begging. So we thought of doing something different, she said. Kwithu Kitchen Garden Fresh Tomatoes are distributed throughout Malawi by Mzuzu Coffee Producers Cooperative Union and are available in different shops including Shoprite and Chipiku Plus.

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BRENDA TWEA Staff Reporter

Special pullout the nation 30 JULY 2013

unlocking economic potential

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ost local businesses hardly go far; they die in their infant stages. Although some Malawian companies such as Mpatsa Holdings, MBL Holdings and FDH Holdings are doing well, but most local businesses perform miserably. Business Consult Africa (BCA) managing director, Henry Kachaje, attributes this to a number of factors. He says while some factors are cultural, others stem from lack of business management skills and financial discipline. On the cultural factors, Kachaje says in most rural areas, businesspeople are treated with suspicion. He cites the example of maize mill business, saying most Malawians still believe one cannot operate it without using charms. These beliefs make it unattractive for people who do not want to be labelled witches to venture into maize mill business. As a result, the culture of entrepreneurship is suffocated, says Kachaje. He says the other problem is lack of business management skills. In our education system, entrepreneurship is missing. Students are trained for whitecollar jobs. But for the few who go into business, they lack institutions which offer learn business management skills. Since many people either come from farming or working class families, they cannot even learn business management skills from their parents. As a result, many people do business through trial and error. They have no set benchmarks against which to measure their capabilities. Probably one of the biggest setbacks to business success in Malawi is the lack of financial discipline on the part of owners, says Kachaje. Most local businesspeople fail to separate personal and business money and this is aggravated by the fact that most of them do not keep records for their enterprises. In fact, some do not know how to calculate revenue and profits or how to differentiate between the two. As a result, they live large spending more than their businesses can take. This either leads to depletion of capital or there is hardly any reinvestment to allow the businesses to grow, he says. Lack of business continuity is another setback. Kachaje says most local businesses are heavily personalised and are only be identified with the founders. That aside, most local businesses operates without any formalised systems and procedures. As a result, institutional memories of

Where do Malawian SMEs get it wrong?

SMEs help to generate the much-need employment for people

such businesses only rest with the founders. Sadly, when the founders die, so do the businesses because none of their close family members or employees is able to carry on with their operations, he says. The micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) survey report launched in June 2013 brings out some interesting information. The report indicates that 23 percent of MSME are in the start-up phase (less than two years old), 38 percent are in the growth phase (between three and five years) and 39 percent are established (over six years old). But the worrying fact is that 87 percent of MSMEs are engaged in trading as opposed to manufacturing and service represented by only 13 percent. Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Nkombezi, calls one of the major factors facing SMEs as peasant farming tradition and cultural background. This was compounded by colonisation, whereby the education system created a doctrine of go to school to get a job. The philosophy of enterprise has not been planted in the national fabric. In some cases, business activity has been frowned upon by society, favouring earning a living through formal employment to business, he points out. Nkombezi also cites lack of credit facilities, high cost of capital, lack of appropriate technology and information as some of the challenges discouraging the growth of SMEs. MSME survey, 2012, also mentions lack of credit facilities is one of the reasons frustrating entrepreneurship in Malawi. Although many banks have designed credit facilities for SMEs, entrepreneurs are still facing challenges to loans. Banks still demands stringent conditions for SMEs to access loans. Most, if not, all of them ask for collateral which most SMEs do not have. High cost of capital is another reason for entrepreneurs failure. SMEs lack capital to expand their businesses and borrowing becomes the alternative. High interest rates on loans mean SMEs make little gains from bank loans, says Nkombezi. Lack of appropriate technology also continues to bedevil the entrepreneurial spirit in the country. The modern world stresses on quality and adopting better ways of doing things. In processes where work is mostly manual, quality becomes a challenge. Our entrepreneurs lack technologies to mechanise their processes. The result has been poor quality of products and low productivity, says Nkombezi. He adds that lack of information also frustrate entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs find it hard to access information, especially on export markets. As a result, local entrepreneurs are not market oriented in the absence of such information. Lack of networking among local entrepreneurs also worsens the information challenge. This is partly due to the fact that there isnt a strong and credible body at regional and national level to bring SMEs together to network, says Nkombezi. Umodzi Consulting managing consultant, Tione Kaonga, notes that most local entrepreneurs do not have goals and objectives to grow their businesses and managing risks. He says most of them go into business because someone is doing it, without understanding its nature. He also adds that most local SMEs lack resilience required to grow their businesses. Growing a business requires a lot of time and effort, says Kaonga.

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