BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – Collateral free loans, quicker turnaround times for loans, and meeting small businesses where they are. These were some of the lessons cited by attendants of Eswatini Bank’s SMME Business Clinic and Networking Day at Esibayeni Lodge today.
The event was aimed to create a platform for it to engage and educate its customers and prospective customers on various business aspects and banking solutions available.
Speaking at the event, Eswatini Bank CEO Nozizwe Mulela emphasised the importance of supporting SMME’s in the country.
“There is no simpler way to create new jobs, eradicate poverty, increase GDP, and raise the standards of living of our people than supporting entrepreneurship, and supporting people who dare to start their own businesses. Every surviving and successful business means new jobs, and growth of GDP,” said Mulela.
“While MSME’s have the potential to contribute a lot more to economic growth and poverty reduction, currently in Eswatini this is happening at a very slow pace, and I guess that is why we are here today – just to try and see what else is there for us to do so that we increase that pace,” added Mulela.
Mulela also noted that most MSME’s are not prepared to access finance, rather than the availability of finance itself.
CEO of XLR Media Mzwandile Nxumalo expressed immense gratitude to Eswatini Bank for organising the forum for the future big businesses in the country.
“Thank you Eswatini Bank because they went the extra mile of catering to SMME’s, which are the next big businesses in the country. The emphasis on the unique types of financial services offered by the bank to SME’s as a bank which is created for Emaswati. For instance, we learned that they have an arrangement with the Central Bank of Eswatini which enables SMME’s to borrow with practically no collateral,” said Nxumalo.
Nxumalo also appreciated the deliberate networking among SMME’s which was designed as part of the program for the day by Eswatini Bank. Other organisations which shared knowledge on growing a healthy business in Eswatini include the MSME department at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, the Eswatini Enterprise Development Corporation (SEDCO), and the Eswatini Revenue Services (ERS).
