By 
A survey has been commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) targeting 11 member states in Southern African region, which will assess the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on micro, small and medium businesses.
The study will also cover the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Southern Africa.
UNECA Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa Economic Affairs Officer Bineswaree Bolaky indicated that they are undertaking a survey across its 11 member countries to assess the impact of Covid-19 and Ukraine crisis on small businesses.
This, she said will assist UNECA collect data on how they the global crisis have impacted the MSMEs sector and challenges they have encountered.
“We want to allow the MSMEs express their concerns and indicate what’s the way forward for them so that we come up with the policy recommendation,” Bolaky said.
In an interview at the ninth session of the African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARFSD) in Niamey, Niger, Bolaky said they are accelerating the implementation of another technical assistance project to strengthen capacity of MSMEs.
She said this would enable the entrepreneurs become better at trade and and industrialisation in the region.
“We are also conducting studies on science, technology and innovation among MSMEs in Southern Africa.
“The second study is looking at the constraints MSMEs face to penetrate in regional market and the regional value chain,” Bolaky said.
She said they had implemented a project called Global MSMEs Search project when Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 in collaboration with United Nations in New York.
Bolaky said a series of clusters were developed to address the impact of Covid and strengthen the capacity of MSMEs.
“As you know Covid hit hard and MSMEs in many parts of the world especially in the informal sector the cost of business went up,” she said.
Bolaky indicated that they expected to conduct training camps in six beneficiary countries, targeting between 100-150 in each member states.
She said countries such as Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi and Mauritius are earmarked to benefit from this training scheduled for end of year.
This would sensitise the MSMEs on the role of technology and how that can enhance their competitivenes.
“We have also supported the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Business Council to setup a technology portal, platform meant to help them exchange resources, ideas and best practices on leveraging technology innovation,” she said.
She said ECA focuses on how to accelerate industrialisation in Southern Africa and leverage it for trade.
“We can foster the building of productive and industrial capacities without fostering the capacities of the MSMEs.
“Part of our work is strengthening the capacities of the MSMEs in the sub region so that we can become better enablers of trade and industrialisation in Southern Africa,” Bolaky said.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments