Farai Mutambanengwe

The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Zimbabwe (SMEAZ) is working on a confex that will bring together stakeholders in the SME funding and financial services sector.

The event, which is slated for 21 and 22 April at the Rainbow Towers Hotel and Conference Centre in Harare, will comprise a conference and an exhibition.

“The inaugural event will be held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel. It will feature two main components: an exhibition where providers of financial services will be able to interface with visitors over the course of the two days, as well as plenary sessions which will be held over the two days to discuss various aspects of funding and financial inclusion,” said the association in an evet statement issued last week.

SMEAZ explained that the exhibition section would comprise stands offered to the different financial services providers and institutions in the SME funding ecosphere, where they would be able to interface with visitors to the exhibition as well as hold meetings with specific SMEs by appointment to better understand their needs. Attendance to the exhibition will be free for SMEs wishing to interface with service providers.

Some of the sectors that are expected to exhibit at the show include banks, MFIs bureaux de change, development finance institutions, NGOs, venture capital and private equity players among others.

Although the association did not disclose the identities of the conference speakers, it indicated that these would include representatives from relevant stakeholder institutions such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) among others.

“We have confirmed attendance from the RBZ, and (we) are in the process of confirming attendance from the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and SME Development, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development as well as the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. Other keynote speakers will come from the private sector, specifically from organisations and institutions that have a bearing on SME funding and financial inclusion,” SMEAZ said.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Zimbabwe (SMEAZ) is set to resume its Local Legends Awards. This year’s edition of the event is billed to be held in Harare on 21 November 2021.

The return of the event was announced by SMEAZ Chief Executive Officer, Farai Mutambanengwe yesterday in correspondence to the association’s members.

“We are pleased to advise you of the resumption of our Local Legends Awards, a ceremony rewarding SMEs that excel in growing their businesses. Unlike conventional awards ceremonies, the Local Legends Awards are merit-based, and winners are SMEs who have actually tangibly worked on improving various aspects of their businesses,” Mutambanengwe said.

The nomination process will include self-nominations, nominations by other members, as well as nominations by the association’s member consultants that work with its members.

The association’s winning nominees are expected to get awards in 15 categories which include customer service, products quality, branding, accounting and internal controls, corporate governance, community involvement, staff wellness as well as graduation or transition among others.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Community and SME Development, Sithembiso Nyoni is set to be the guest of honour. Her Deputy, the Permanent Secretary and the Director for SMEs are also expected to attend the event.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the association indicated that it was going to limit attendance to the 100 people figure stipulated by the government for such events.

“Current Covid-19 protocols restrict us to a maximum of 100 participants, so there will be a restriction in terms of attendees, who will, most likely, only be the awards nominees/winners,” Mutambanengwe said.

In 2018 SMEAZ shelved the awards event citing a challenging operating environment.

SMEAZ lines up funding, inclusion confex

SMEAZ brings back Local Legends Awards