BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – His Majesty King Mswati III calls upon Emaswati, including entrepreneurs, to make use of available funds established to start businesses.
The King said this yesterday (Friday, August 9, 2024) during the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) 2024, which was held at Mavuso Exhibition and Trade Centre in Manzini. The 2024 EYA was won by Datamatics Swaziland, which is owned by Sibusiso Baartjies. Baartjies, among other things, won a brand new Toyota Hilux worth E600 000 and cash prizes of up to E80 000. Baartjies is also a winner of the EYA in the Hhohho Region.
Speaking during the event, the King also called upon Government to find ways of improving the funds so that they could easily be accessible to Emaswati to start their businesses and also to entrepreneurs to expand theirs. The King told the entrepreneurs that the economy of Eswatini relied on how good they did as business people.
He said the country counted on them to be successful so that they could produce helpful products that carried the brand of Eswatini with pride. The King informed the business people that they should not only look at the local market in the country.
The Head of State made an example of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The King told the entrepreneurs that such markets were there to improve the economies of African countries, including Eswatini.
He said the improvement of the economies depended on the entrepreneurs taking advantage of such opportunities. The King further implored the business people to ensure that they helped the country alleviating the unemployment rate. He also pleaded with them to embrace the use of technology so that they improved their productivity.
