BCC, UNDP partner to set up MSMEs trade hub in Bulawayo

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is working towards setting up a local authority trade hub to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the city.

This initiative is part of a broader strategy to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

A primary goal of the proposed trade hub is to create a centralised database of registered MSMEs involved in product manufacturing, with 40 percent of raw materials sourced from within Africa.

The hub will also focus on organising SMEs and licensed sole traders into industrial clusters, which will allow them to benefit from pooled procurement under the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA, which was operationalised in January 2021, is a major initiative of the African Union under its Agenda 2063. It aims to create a single market for Africa’s 1,3 billion people, streamline customs procedures, and reduce bureaucracy to ease the movement of goods across borders.

With a combined GDP of about US$3,4 trillion, the agreement seeks to boost intra-African trade by 53 percent and create up to 30 million jobs by next year.

Zimbabwe is one of the signatories to the agreement, which aims to eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods traded between member states over 10 years.

The objective is to foster regional economic integration and boost intra-African trade by 53 percent next year with the potential to create up to 30 million jobs and lift 30 million people out of poverty.

According to the latest council agenda, BCC director of town planning, Mr Wisdom Siziba told the town, lands and planning committee in September that representatives from the UNDP visited the city on 24 July where preliminary discussions were held regarding the establishment of a local authority’s trade hub to support MSMEs

The primary objective of the hub is to provide an enabling role in providing co-ordination, information/ knowledge, business advisory and support services to the local MSMEs, business enterprises and other local authorities in their regions on the key provisions, opportunities and engaging with the AFCFTA.

Another objective is to set up an information desk on AFCFTA which would also have online platforms for citizen engagement and also facilitate registration of new sole traders and SMEs to enable them to benefit from the trading opportunity.

“The Trade Hub would be established as a focal point for surrounding urban and rural district councils to refer and register SMEs and sole traders to build a critical mass for aggregation of products for trade under AfCFTA and equipping surrounding urban and rural district councils with a comprehensive understanding of the objectives, principles, and institutional framework of AfCFTA,” reads part do the report.

According to the report, the hub will assist in developing capacities of local sole traders, SMEs and local authorities to engage with trade processes on the AFCFTA, identify opportunities to support and promote trade facilitation, investment, and industrial development in line with AfCFTA objectives.

Additionally, the hub will create a supportive environment for the establishment of ready-to-trade SMEs to engage in the guided trade initiative and facilitate the participation of the SMEs in the trade exhibitions, trade shows, knowledge exchange visits to promote the visibility of the goods and services available in the country.

“While primarily targeting the southern region, the business hub will also significantly benefit the local authority through its provision of both hardware and software resources. This initiative represents a crucial step towards the digital transformation of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in Bulawayo,” the council said.

The council has resolved to approve and adopt the partnership with UNDP for the establishment of the trade hub. The Dugmore offices and Tower Block MSMEs offices have been designated as resource centres for the hub, which will be equipped with the necessary information technology infrastructure to support its operations.-chronicle