BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – Empowering growth through EU support!
The business aspirations of Bafanabetfu Gina (32) from Matsapha have been given wheels to success thanks to support from the European Union in Eswatini (EU), who donated a Toyota 2.8 GD6 vehicle.
The empowerment campaign was themed “Drive to success: Empowering growth through EU support.” Gina is an artist, designer, craftsman and creative entrepreneur running a business with four employees called Favourite House Designs Studio. The small and up-coming enterprise specialises in designing and manufacturing furniture and infusing art to produce functional décor products. Its workshop is at Mhlane in Matsapha.
EU Ambassador to Eswatini, Karsten Mecklenburg, presented the vehicle to the company’s director, Gina, during an event held in Mbabane last Friday. Also present at the handover was Luís Miguel Pascoal, the EU’s Programme Officer – Private Sector Development, Business Climate, and Sustainable and Inclusive growth.
The presentation followed a recent competition in which the EU, through the International Trade Centre (ITC), invited Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Eswatini to bid for the car by submitting short videos on how they intend to use the vehicle for business growth. This competition was open to all the MSMEs, farmer cooperatives and artisan groups who are beneficiaries of the “Eswatini: Promoting Growth through Competitive Alliances” programme implemented by ITC.
Favourite Designs Studio submitted the winning entry from the many entries received in December to January.
Presenting the car, Ambassador Mecklenburg said the EU was proud to hand over the vehicle to Favourite House Designs Studio, thus empowering and providing the company with an opportunity to grow its business.
“Through this initiative, we looked at empowering and creating opportunities for a young person’s business to grow. We are pleased to support Eswatini entrepreneurship in this way, and we trust that Favourite Designs will make the best use of it and expand its business,” he said.
He said the EU, among its many partnership programmes in Eswatini, helps to empower SMMEs, thus boosting their growth and job creation.
Receiving the vehicle, an elated Gina, the company’s director, expressed their utmost appreciation to the EU for the donation. He said the donation was evidence of the EU’s continued support to SMMEs in Eswatini.
“I am grateful for the support from the EU as now I will be able to travel and source more materials, including reaching the grassroots level to get indigenous suppliers. It will also help me reach more customers and grow my client base,” he said.
In a video clip, Gina described how winning the EU car would help his company grow its operations, access new markets, transport its goods and products more efficiently, and tackle logistical challenges hindering its expansion. In the video, he is seen walking, carrying the furniture uncomfortably, and public service vehicles refusing to load the large items into their vehicles due to space constraints. He also expressed how a lack of a car made him late for deliveries.
Gina said they will use the vehicle to source business material, thus helping them expand operations and their footprint in the design sector.
The vehicle was a service vehicle for the EU and has now been transferred to Gina, who drove off with it on Friday.
The European Union and the Kingdom of Eswatini have a long-standing and cordial partnership dating back more than 50 years now. This partnership focuses on poverty reduction and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth and development.
