06 Jul 2014

The introduction of the Barclays Bank Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Customer Value Proposition (CVP) will go a long way in supporting the SME sector development as well as economic diversification and growth.

Barclays Bank managing director, Ms Reinete Van Der Merwe said this at the launch of the SME business segment in the northern region, Wednesday July 2.

She said through the product the bank had aligned itself to the government initiatives on economic diversification, creation of sustainable emterprises and employment creation.

Ms van der Merwe said the government was also committed to the fight against poverty as well as the fostering of sustainable growth of the small enterprises.

“I believe that this product will contribute significantly to the strengthening of the competitiveness of small to medium enterprises in the country, thereby facilitating services and products,” she said.

She said her bank was committed to helping Batswana achieve their ambitions in the right way and did not want to be viewed just as a financial institution, but also a solution provider in Botswana.

Ms van der Merwe noted lack of funds was a problem to SME growth and that there was need to provide financial literacy and entrepreneurial coaching as in some instances funds were not used for specific intention.

She said the CVP would cover clients in the small business category whose annual turn-over was up to P10 million and the medium businesses with the annual turn-over in the range of P10 million to P25 million.

She further said the clients would also benefit from networking and business interactions through business club expositions.

Francistown deputy mayor, Councillor Joyce Ndove noted that the SME sector had proven to be an important driver of economic growth and employment creation across the world.

She said research had shown that nearly 90 per cent of all registered businesses were SME, employing over 3 000 people both formally and informally.

Cllr Ndove said the launch of the Barclays CVP was a noble gesture that would augment the existing key players in the sector such as Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA).

Following the launch, small and mediam entrepreneurs from Bobirwa, Francistown, Mmadinare, Selebi Phikwe and Chobe attended a seminar that was aimed at empowering them on a number of issues such as export and credit insurance, and tax compliance. ENDS