By Rudo Saungweme

Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Developmnent, Honourable Sithembiso Nyoni has today launched the review process of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

She said that Government took cognizance of the crucial role that the SMEs play, hence the need for regular policy reviews.

Speaking at the launch Honourable Nyoni says, "The Government takes cognizance of the crucial role being played by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country's socio-economic development.

"Over the last two decades, the MSME sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of our economy," said the minister.

The minister said that apart from providing employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital cost than large industries, the MSMEs also facilitate industrialisation of rural areas, thereby reducing regional imbalances and in turn assuring more equitable distribution of national income and wealth.

Minister Moyo highlighted that given the importance of the MSME's in the country's development matrix, it is therefore necessary that there be regular policy reviews to ensure that the policies in place address the needs of the sector in this dynamic business environment, hence the review being undertaken.

This policy review comes at a time when the Government is laying the foundation for future economic development of the country through the Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP) for the attainment of the vision to become an Upper Middle Income Economy by 2030 where SME are expected to play an important role.

Minister Moyo added that "under the current decentralization and devolution thrust, SMEs are expected to play a vital role through creating employment opportunities, rural industrialisation and better usage of local resources thereby contributing significantly to the nationwide economic development."

SMEs play a critical role in job creation and economic growth. According to a recent study from the International Finance Corporation, SMEs account for more than half of all formal jobs worldwide, and their share of aggregate employment is comparable to that of large firms.