The Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) has called on the City of Bulawayo’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) department to adopt the International Labour Organisation (ILO) approach in training informal sector leaders on disaster resilience strategies.
Some informal businesses, such as the Mutize flea market, have been destroyed by fires, leaving traders vulnerable and without recovery plans to sustain their operations.
This appeal was made during the Urban Agriculture Policy Review meeting, where Bulawayo’s MSMEs working group, supported by Dan Church Aid and various government agencies, convened to review the policy process under the city’s vision of creating a “climate-resilient, smart, inclusive, and safe city with sustainable, youth-led, indigenous, and modern food systems where citizens are more conscious of their actions.”
BVTA Programs Officer, Bakani Ncube, said it is important for informal traders to have contingency plans to mitigate potential risks.
Ncube urged the City Council’s MSMEs department to adopt this approach by training MSMEs leaders on disaster preparedness and response.
“There are strategies under the ILO that the department can adopt. If the council implements these strategies, training all MSMEs leaders to focus on how to react and recover after disasters, it would greatly enhance their resilience and ability to move forward,” she added.
She further recommended that the City Council incorporate these courses into their efforts to create a sustainable environment for Bulawayo’s informal sector.
Additionally, Ncube stressed the need for MSMEs to embrace innovation by moving beyond operating solely from council bays and digitising their businesses.
“The informal sector should adopt new innovations, add value, and digitalise their businesses so they can be accessible online. They need to move away from solely relying on physical bays provided by the council and start marketing, advertising, and selling online. There are new platforms available, and the informal sector could even create its own e-commerce app to enhance resilience and sustainability,” Ncube said.
BVTA Director, Michael Ndiweni, acknowledged that while the MSMEs department is still in its infancy, there is a need to establish a clear strategy.
“The best way forward is to develop a strategy for the next two or three years to guide the MSMEs section. In our discussions with the Bulawayo City Council, we agreed to co-create a space where all stakeholders can come together to develop a comprehensive strategy for Bulawayo’s MSMEs,” Ndiweni said.
