ECOCASH Services chief operating officer Mr Japhet Aritho says the Ecocash Payroll system will offer access to credit lines to small to medium enterprises and companies using the platform depending on transaction volumes and value.
Mr Aritho, speaking at a breakfast meeting last week said SMEs and companies need to transact through the platform in order to gather evidence on the volumes and value of business they are transacting.
“Based on that we are able to go to the bank and say look these SMEs are doing these kind of volumes and the bank can do their assessment and decide on how much they can advance,” he said.
He emphasised that the Ecocash platform does not advance loans but with Steward Bank as part of the family it becomes easy to negotiate for a facility for SMEs.
“Depending on the number of volumes, we can say . . . can’t we come up with a facility to support them financially. So basically SMEs need to transact,” he
said.
Mr Aritho said the uptake of the platform has been overwhelming with the number of corporates coming aboard ranging between 11 and 20 per week.
Econet Services chief executive Mr Darlington Mandivenga last month said there had been a sharp increase in the number of firms paying their workers using EcoCash Payroll, registering 82 percent increase.
Speaking at the same event, SMES and Corporative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said through a study the ministry funded, Zimbabwe has 2,8 million viable SMEs.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe has signed an MOU with India’s National Small industries Corporation for the establishment of a US$2 million vocational centre for SMEs in Harare.
Mr Nyoni said industrial technology worth US$1 million was donated by India while Zimbabwe has secured a US$650 000 property for the setting up of the equipment in Harare’s waterfalls suburb.
The incubation centre is expected to be operational in four months and become the regional centre for SADC.
“Everything is in place,” added Minister Nyoni.
The MOU facilitates establishment of India-Africa incubation or vocational centre to promote technology transfer in 27 technologies or projects and enhance employment creation.
Minister Nyoni said the centre will accelerate development of new SMEs especially in the manufacturing sector by facilitating access to appropriate technology and mentorship programmes.
Indian Ambassador to Harare Jeitendra Tripathi said the project is part of a skills and technological transfer initiative between India and Zimbabwe. – FinX.