Entrepreneur of the Year Awards return

2023-03-01 - %< 0+/E1*I 0$*O1*O

MBABANE – Mashayinkonjane Investments were the last winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) in 2019.

7he 0inister of )inance 1eal 5ijkenberg on )riday announced the return of the once annual E<$ awards. +e said the awards aimed at recognising and rewarding business e[cel lence locally.

³In the )inancial

7he minister added that government has taken the initiative to increase the leverage on the micro small and medium enterprises 0S0Es guaranteeing capacity from three times to five times the portfolio value. +e said the e[pected output on this initiative was to see more en terprises benefitting from the scheme, hence a boost to economic growth, as 0S0Es remain the key drivers of economic growth.

³*overnment will continue with the men torship and incubation of 0S0Es to promote entrepreneurship and business development skills. In the current financial year 123 busi nesses were incubated in the SEDCO Estates, that have created employment for 13 people,´ he added.

Empower

5ijkenberg further mentioned that the private sector also supported initiatives, which empow er 0S0Es through partnership with SEDCO. +e said 071 Eswatini through the 071 )oundation had been providing sponsorship to the 071±SEDCO radio programme, which aims at empowering 0S0Es.

³Development partners are contributing to improving the livelihoods of entrepreneurs in the .ingdom of Eswatini through the signing of a 0emorandum of 8nderstanding 0o8 between the International 7rade Centre I7C and SEDCO for a grant of E ,´ he added.

7he minister further mentioned this grant agreement aimed to establish a framework of cooperation between I7C and SEDCO to support the Capacity Development and Sector Support by %usiness Support Organisations %SOs under the project ³Eswatini 3romoting *rowth through Competitive $lliances´.

SEDCO¶s CEO, .hethiwe 0hlanga encour aged participants to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired from the training so that their businesses can grow and be sustain able.

³7he knowledge you have gained in this training is an investment to your businesses because the skills you have acquired will help you to correct some of the mistakes that you have made which will make your businesses more sustainable,´ she said.

0hlanga also encouraged the participants to reach out to SEDCO at any point in their entrepreneurial journey because SEDCO offers an array of services and products for 0S0Es.

³When you start to feel like your business is in trouble and you need some business advice, please visit SEDCO. We have qualified business coaches and counsellors that will help guide you and point you in the right direction,´ she said.

SEDCO also supports entrepreneurs with reg istering companies, attaining trading licences, developing viable business plans and applying for funding, business incubation, marketing and recently, developing website and compa ny emails. 0S0E Director 0luleki Dlamini said their financing model includes financial literacy training which aims to equip young entrepreneurs with financial management and recordkeeping skills.

Revolving

Dlamini mentioned that government has established various financial schemes to assist 0S0Es, especially those owned by the youth to attain funding. +e mentioned the Small Scale Enterprise /oan *uarantee Scheme SSE/*S , the 5egional Development )und 5D) , the E million 0S0E 5evolving )und housed at Eswatini%ank, the Informal 7raders 5evolving )und I75) housed at )I1CO53, and the

+e further encouraged the participants to come together and collaborate because this places them in a better position of securing grants from fi nancial schemes like the 5egional Development )und. +e also encouraged them to advocate for government to improve the business environ ment and to implement e[isting policies.

³$s business people you have the power to influence the business environment in the coun try, you just need to be proactive and approach us as government to make your requests,´ said Dlamini. +,6 is a challenging daily grid to tease your mind and test your ability with numbers.

,7¶6 6,03/( Just fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. The numbers do not have to add up to anything.