Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni participants at an Institute of Directors Zimbabwe SME corporate governance workshop that this was key to their growth.

"Organisational effectiveness in most companies is a result of good corporate governance, which I believe if imparted in you will go a long way in ensuring the success of the companies. Issues such as registration, keeping of a clean operating environment and keeping of business records come into play.

"SME development production is one of the best economic policies, which if well policed can result in maximum economic benefits to the country.

"The development of the Medium and Small-to-Medium Enterprises sector is regarded as crucial for the achievement of broader development objectives," said the Minister Nyoni in a speech read on her behalf by the acting director for business development in the ministry Mr Mamvura Mabika.

The National Code of Corporate Governance of Zimbabwe is in the process of establishing a Zimbabwe Corporate Governance Code, which is a precursor to Corporate Governance standards.

Minister Nyoni said that the growth of the SMEs naturally translates to national economic growth, particularly in relation to this country's economic dispensation.

"The growth of a country can be measured by the growth of its SMEs and training is one of the components. In the Zimbabwean context, there is increasing awareness within all sectors that large projects are less likely to start and generate the requisite employment opportunities given their high nature of capital intensity.

"Experience in Zimbabwe and elsewhere has shown that MSMEs are flexible and responsive to changes in the market. They require relatively less capital and therefore, have the potential to sustain employment for skilled and semi-skilled labour," she said.

Small-to-Medium enterprises have become more important in economic milieus globally. In the United States and European Union countries (whose definition of an SME is an enterprise with fewer than 500 employees) it is estimated that SMEs contribute over 60 percent in employment, 40 to 60 percent to Gross Domestic Product and 30 to 60 percent to exports.

There have been calls from some sections of the economy for the establishment of a Small-to-Medium Enterprises Stock Exchange as a core mechanism in the enhancement of the sector's viability and overall contribution to national GDP.

By The Herald