25 Feb 2014

Small and Medium and Micro-scale enterprises have for years been fundamental to employment generation and self-empowerment to ordinary Batswana.

The growth of SMMEs in the country portrays aspects of economic and commercial changes such as the declining importance of centralised mass production and the growth of the service sector which can be accommodated by SMMEs flexibility and specialisation.

One such living testimony of the significance of SMMEs to an average Motswana is that of Ms Gomotsang Jane of Hukuntsi. The 49-year-old entrepreneur has been self-employed since she can recall.  To her being registered for destitution in the government’s destitute program has never been an option.

She took it upon herself to see to it that none of her family members goes to bed with an empty stomach.It all was not like a bed of roses for Ms Jane when she started off her businesses as she had to carry a huge bag on her head and go house to house and neither the extreme temperatures of Kgalagadi nor the heaps of sands that she had to traverse daily stood on her to success.

“I started off with a mobile tuck shop selling sweets and fruits from house to use and my passion for business is all that drove me to climb the success ladder despite all the stumbling blocks that presented themselves back then.”Following a lengthy spell as a mobile tuck shop, Ms Jane finally opted to setup a temporary shelter by the main entrance of the Hukuntsi shopping complex commonly known as Kwa-ga-MmaZol to the locals.

“Since there is no market plaza for SMMEs in Hukuntsi, I had to be strategic in choosing a prime spot that will lure in consumers after purchasing their vital goods, be it clothes or groceries from the major retailers in the shopping complex,” she said.What started off as an escape route from abject poverty has now transformed to huge money spinning business entity as Ms Jane has managed to expand her business horizons to even sell kinds of products, ranging from fruits, airtime, prepaid electricity, jewellery and even cosmetics and clothing.

She however decried what she termed a constant harassment by Bylaw officials upon SMMEs.  With a disheartened look on her face, Ms Jane indicated that the Bylaw officers are forever on their case regarding the status of their structures.

“I used to have a temporary structure that I would lock my stock in after closure of business but the Bylaws officials ordered me to demolish it citing that it clutters the surrounding and rather replace it with an umbrella.”The move by the officials, she said has a negative impact on her business since she now has to take a limited stock that she can be able to carry back home at the end of business.

She explained that the limited stock at times hinders their profit making as they sometimes run out of stock.Despite all the hiccups, Ms Jane remains optimistic to own a wholesale or distribution depot in the future. ENDS