Remarks by the United Nations Resident Coordinator During the National Stakeholders Meeting on Developing a Financing Model for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Kingdom of Eswatini

It is a pleasure to join the Government of Eswatini and UNECA – the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa - in welcoming you to the national stakeholder meeting on developing a financing model for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

On behalf of my colleagues from UN agencies, funds and programmes in the Kingdom of Eswatini, as well as on my own behalf, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade for the kind invitation to attend this meeting and for the continued strong cooperation and collaboration that the UN enjoys with the Government of Eswatini in improving the lives of the people of Eswatini.

We are holding this meeting at a time of great distress throughout the world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am deeply concerned, as much as we all are, by the unabated rise in COVID-19 cases in Eswatini and the continued devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of our families, friends, neighbours or acquaintances.

Small businesses, including those run by women and young entrepreneurs, have been hit the hardest by the economic fall-out of the pandemic as a result of the lockdown measures enacted to contain the spread of the disease. Across the world, lockdown measures have resulted in supply chain disruptions and a massive drop in demand in most sectors.

To continue to play their critical  role in creating decent jobs and improving livelihoods, small businesses depend more than ever on an enabling business environment, including one in which support to  access to finance, information, and markets is provided.

We therefore applaud UNECA for assisting the Government of Eswatini, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, to develop an inclusive financing model to cater for the needs of MSMEs.

We particularly appreciate this integrated and inclusive platform of  national stakeholders invited to engage in an open and honest dialogue to share concerns, ideas and perspectives on the development of an effective financing model that could very efficiently address the needsand challenges of MSMEs in Eswatini.

Despite the challenges we face as result of the devastating impact of COVID-19, we remain in the world Decade of Action and we must focus on limiting the devastating impact of COVID-19 and a better recovery to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the remaining less than 10 years ahead of us.

We are well aware of the critical  role played by the  MSMEs in growing economy. MSMEs contribute significantly to the achievement of the SDGs through economic growth and employment creation (SDG8); fostering innovation (SDG9); reducing waste through recycling (SDG12); poverty reduction (SDG1); food security (SDG2) and many other SDGs.

SDG target 8.3 specifically calls upon all of us to “promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.”

In 2017, the UN declared the 27th of June to be observed as the “Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day”. In its Resolution A/RES/71/279, the General Assembly recognized the need for Member States to focus on the importance of MSMEs in achieving the SDGs, particularly in promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all. The UN General Assembly further invited Member States, organizations of the UN system,  international organizations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to raise public awareness on MSMEs by fostering research and policy discussions in close collaboration with the private sector.

The UN in Eswatini is in the process of developing the Eswatini United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework - UNSDCF – for 2021-2025, which is the UN offer of assistance to the people and the Government of Eswatini to advance Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development and achieve SDGs in the country . A few weeks ago, we held consultative meetings with various sectors as part of an inclusive process to develop a cooperation framework.

 The UNSDCF recognizes sustainable and inclusive economic growth through an enabling environment; private sector investment; the creation of SMEs , sustainable agriculture, job creation as  critical for the absorption of the many young people, women and vulnerable persons who wish to enter the labour market each year; and critical to address climate change, decent work, food security and social protection in Eswatini.

We commend the Government’s continuous efforts to identify and develop models for financing MSMEs. The UN country team in Eswatini stands ready to partner with sister agencies and others at the regional and the sub regional levels such as ECA to provide technical support in this regard. 

I personally look forward to robust discussions on these issues.

Again, on behalf of the UN system in the Kingdom of Eswatini, it is a pleasure and an honour to join you in this consultative meeting of national stakeholders.

I wish you very fruitful discussions.

Thank you.