Mafa Moleko
A spark of hope is finally on the horizon for the small business entrepreneurs after a local financial institution, My Loan launched its firsthand hand Stocko Secured loans yesterday.
The new product, beke-le-beke is projected to augment small businesses by giving them access to financial loans which is set to balloon their businesses after noting that they struggle to secure loans at the banks due to unavailability of papers work.
Speaking at the launch, My Loan Managing Director Tjale Maila indicated that they are awestruck to see the company growing faster than their expectations owing to a support of Basotho hence they decided to create the product.
He said the company which has two years since its inauguration in 2019, has already made it to top charts after bagging two diamond arrow accolades.
“We consider small businesses as pillars of the country’s economy therefore we want to see change in the industry where we are able to change the lives of the small business entrepreneurs,†he said.
He said there is a secured loan which is very easy to access within a short time without any paper work, adding that small entrepreneurs should have movable property that will stand as surety.
“We have reduced the paper work in these loans because we have noticed that entrepreneurs face challenges when they have to access money from the banks because of the paper work,†he said.
He further mentioned that the opportunity will be opened to every small business and street vendors to enhance their businesses. He pointed that registered vendors will have access to M5000.00 while those who have not been registered will claim M2000.00 which shall be paid weekly until all the money is retained.
On behalf of Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), Nthati Nyakala expressed that limited knowledge hampers Basotho from grabbing such opportunities that are aimed at improving their lives.
“High surety becomes problematic when registering a business and that also hinders the entrepreneurs to access money from the financial institutions like banks, the standards are also affecting the growth of the businesses in Lesotho,†she said.
She continued that it is time for Lesotho with the entire stakeholders to help small businesses to graduate from the lower status to the next which is practicable if they can access knowledge in order to apply for such opportunities.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of The Entrepreneurs Network, Rethabile Shale said their work is to train small entrepreneurs to understand the basics of business. She said it is impossible to help them without adequate finances.
“I think this will help us since we need to develop them and this is going to be a success since My Loan came with the answer,†she said.
She said one of the biggest issues Lesotho is facing is lack of financial statements from the small business sector, and there is a need to help entrepreneurs.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Small Business Development, Cooperatives and Marketing, Mabasia Lepota said Basotho should go back to the times when everything was done in pairs and groups like other successful business people.
“We need to come together in building the economy of Lesotho so that we can have a finically free nation and eradicate unemployment,†she said.