ZANU-PF youths from Bulawayo are set to be the first beneficiaries of the CBZ Bank US$10 million national loan facility, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Small to Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development said this at a graduation ceremony held in Bulawayo where the party’s 141 youths received certificates for completing different courses in business management.

She said part of the US$10 million loan facility would be advanced to youths that have gone through training in business management, basic costing and marketing, among others.

“Since Bulawayo Zanu-PF youths are the pioneers of this business training programme, they will also be the first beneficiaries of the US$10 million loan facility from the CBZ,” she said.

The training programme, which was held in October covered topics like business planning, proposal writing and basic costing.

The CBZ loan facility aims at stimulating and supporting growth in the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and micro finance sectors, an official said.

Minister Nyoni said her ministry through the Department of Business Development had designed programmes that suit the needs of men, women and youths entrepreneurs.

“These programmes are support mechanisms that help those equipped with the training to either start their own businesses for self employment endeavours or for those already in businesses to grow them,” she said.

The training, she said, had exposed the youths to best standards of performance that will help them market their brands.

“I’m therefore challenging you to be shining beacons in the communities you’re operating from so that the community sees development through empowerment in groups like you.”

“You’ve been empowered through this training to effect change in your communities by starting businesses that lead to sustainable local economic and social development,” she said.

She urged the beneficiaries of the facility to make use of it to promote viability of their businesses through competitiveness and market creation.

“I would like to once again emphasise that a trained entrepreneur like you is in a better position to plan ahead and correct mistakes, is able to cost his or her operations to arrive at a competitive price and also to produce goods of better quality needed by customers,” she said.

The CBZ US$10 million facility is part of the US$46 million loan which the financial institution received from the Preferential Trade Area Bank early this year.

The PTA bank is a trade and development financial institution in Africa and is a financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

The bank’s membership is open to non-Comesa states and other institutional shareholders. by Brighton Gumbo