Africa-Press – Eswatini. One of the labels that seemed to have remained embedded in my mind has been the Made in China, Made in Taiwan or Made in Japan. Everything you touched seemed to be made in China, Taiwan or Japan. Growing up, these labels were everywhere.
Made Eswatini
MaSwati lamahle we are in serious trouble if we don’t change our attitude towards business. The label Made in Eswatini must mean excellence and must ring true throughout Africa and the world. We have high unemployment, particularly amongst our youth who represent the largest part of our population. This is the prevailing fact throughout Africa. Our main streets from Mbabane, Pigg’s Peak, Siteki and Manzini to Nhlangano and even the smallest towns such as Luve are dominated by Asian retailers. The wholesalers they buy their stock from are also owned by Asians, particularly the Chinese and the Indians.
I have no problem with Asian domination of the retail sector because I am a believer in the free-market economy and realise that we are living under Globalisation which we can take advantage of too. I am also aware that emaSwati have leased the shops and in many cases even the trading licenses to the Asians. My solution is not to chase the Asians away but to strive to manufacture locally all that they sell through their retail outlets and also export.
MaSwati, why do we still import basic consumer products such as egg trays, toilet paper, paper napkins, disposable spoons, disposable form plates (we use at funerals every weekend), plastic products (cups, plates, jugs, washing dishes, shoes, gloves), aluminium/ steel products such as cups, forks and table utensils? Electrical products, one could manufacture products like light bulbs, LED lights, toys, wall watches and all kinds of small electrical gadgets for everyday use. Please not candles, surely, we can do better. In the car industry, young local entrepreneurs can venture into manufacturing all kinds of high-use non-specific or generic spare parts such as brake pads, wipers, coolants, bearings and many more. In Agriculture, fruit processing machinery has a great opportunity.
Generational wealth
The leather industry in Eswatini can be a form of generational wealth. One of my good friends, an Ethiopian doctor once told me just how amazed he was that leather hides are treated with such low value in Eswatini. He said back in his country Ethiopia, it is a very big business and a source of great wealth and pride such that families pass the trade from one generation to another. I found out that leather hides can be treated/ processed and sold at many different stages. The skill required is not easily obtained and takes time to master. That is the reason a father would train his sons early in their years to see who will master the craft to pass on the trade. I then realised that emaSwati have lost the plot when it comes to business and generational wealth. The pastors constantly preach about generational curses but never about generational blessings that are also acquired through generational skills transfer.
Many of our fathers’ businesses died with them because we never realised that their lives and work had to live on. If one remembers the transport/bus industry and all the bus names that have come and gone, one will agree that emaSwati has been very bad at generational skills transfer. The new generation wants to constantly reinvent the wheel. They want to start their own thing or to break away from family. They are leaving the family business with the hope of finding themselves but find a wall of unemployment and disappointments. When the old man eventually dies, they find that they have no knowledge or interest in the business and break it up and sell it opting for cash. In many cases, family politics and squabbles because of polygamy (In many cases but not all) soon destroy all the hard work of the oldman. We have become a nation of workers, not employers.
The new generation of emaSwati
The new generation of emaSwati must not be the tail but the head. They must be the master of their destiny. EmaSwati light manufacturing business entrepreneur will have two main goals. 1) Excellence: To be the best manufacturer in whatever product in the whole southern African region (SADC), not just Eswatini, taking advantage of all trade and market agreements signed by the government. 2) legacy: to ensure that one leaves a legacy not only in money terms but also in skills to one’s future generations. This will require deliberately involving the children in the business from a young age. This has been the success of the Asians and the success of the Jewish community for centuries.
Manufacturing is made easy via the internet
The age of the internet has made finding machinery for manufacturing easy. The average machine would cost US$1000 to US$8000 through reputable websites like https://www.alibaba.com/ by the Chinese Billionaire Jack Mar. This man has made his billions selling know-how. If that was not enough, we have Made-In-China.com websites with every machinery one could think of. If you have issues with buying from China, then Taiwan will offer you all the information on manufacturing through its website https://www.taiwantrade.com/home.html. This website will blow you away with all the manufacturing machinery on offer. They have machinery to manufacture everything at very affordable prices. If you still have issues with Taiwan, then India has it all.
They offer everything on this web link https://www.indiamart.com/indian-business-machines-services/aboutus.html. We need to stop thinking about our small population as Eswatini and realise that we are in a whole new global world. Africa still has the advantage of low cost of production and if we can break into the world markets and earn foreign currency, then the sky is the limit. I only wish organisations like SEDCO or the Ministry of Commerce would realise this and create incubator centers for light manufacturing. The private sector can also participate in funding startups.
Source: times
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