Pandemic frustrates 2020 SMME, Business growth
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday December 21, 2020 14:37
Many of the enterprises in this bracket struggled to survive and this was worsened by the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the year.
The pandemic pushed most of them to the brink and many faced severe losses in revenues while some are headed for closure.
MonitorBusiness has established that most SMMEs were extremely worried about the impact of the pandemic on their liquidity position and business survival.
Since the outbreak, most of the SMMEs have been operating with uncertainties with some forced to lay off their employees, as they cannot afford to pay salaries anymore.
LEA conducts a survey
Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) has established that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected most of their assisted small businesses. According to the survey that was conducted by the end of March, about 63% of the 382 enterprises, have suspended operations with reduction in monthly revenue of 47%. A total of 142 enterprises that remained operational faced challenges of importation of raw materials, inability to pay fixed costs which includes rent, salaries, loans amongst others.
CEDA launches Letlhabile
In a bid to assist the SMMEs during the pandemic, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) launched an informal sector stimulation programme named Letlhabile. The programme focusses specifically on uplifting the informal sector.
Letlhabile provided loans from P500,00 up to P10,000 to business in retail, services, transport, agriculture and other types of micro enterprises. The product targeted individuals who predominantly sustain their livelihood through business activities at the micro and informal sectors.
Gov’t reserves business for locals Government through the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry has reserved some businesses for locals.
In June, government passed a new law that reserved some businesses for Batswana citizens only. These include manufacturing of bread and confectionery, ice making, Meat processing, Peanut butter, Purification and bottling of water, Traditional sour milk and Sorghum.
Others include bricks, Bugler bars, gates and windows, Candles, Fencing material excluding gum poles to mention a few
BITC pushes local products
The Botswana Investment and Trade Centre’s (BITC) #PushaBW campaign has seen a number of retailers supporting this initiative increasing significantly compared to last year.
This has also seen hotels also committing to sourcing from local producers food stuffs and other goods which include beds, bed linens, cosmetics to mention a few. In the retail sector, there has an increase in shelf space for local products in their shops. The #PushaBw initiative was launched in 2018, as a campaign to rally Batswana and all residents to make concsious decisions to buy local produced goods and services.
The campagn is also aimed at improving the productive capacity of local producers, which contrinutes to creation of more employment opportunities. In addition the campaign is intended to encourage retail stores to carry locally produced goods and services.
To date, through the PushaBw campaign, BITC has supported over 143 companies by enabling their participation at local and international exhibitions. In addition, over 115 companies have been profiled on BITC social media platforms to further expose them to domestic and international markets.