Government is moving to create greater economic opportunities for Emaswati-owned businesses through preferential procurement and the protection of selected sectors, in a bid to strengthen the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and ensure they benefit from major development projects.
The plans were unveiled by Minister for Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo during the Manzini Regional Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EYA) held at The George Hotel on Monday.
Addressing entrepreneurs, business leaders and stakeholders, Khumalo said Government was advancing the Citizens Economic Empowerment Act alongside the National MSME Policy 2024–2029 to provide a more supportive environment for local enterprises to grow and compete. 
He said one of the key priorities was to ensure that preferential procurement became a legal requirement, allowing local MSMEs to secure a greater share of contracts arising from government projects,
parastatal developments and private-sector investments that receive Government incentives.
“Number one, we want to secure preferential procurement,” Khumalo said.
“Where there are big government projects, projects with parastatals and projects by the private sector that enjoy government incentives, we want embedded in legislation preferential procurement for MSMEs,” he said.
The Minister said the proposed framework would help ensure that local businesses were no longer left on the sidelines when large-scale economic opportunities emerged.
He added that Government was equally focused on reserving selected sectors and business locations for Emaswati-owned enterprises, giving local entrepreneurs greater room to establish and expand sustainable businesses.
According to Khumalo, the regulations aimed at protecting these sectors have already passed through the Attorney General’s Office and are expected to be presented to Cabinet before being tabled in Parliament.
“The regulations have just passed through the Attorney General’s Office.
I’m hoping to present these regulations this week to Cabinet, and if they pass next week, I want to table it in Parliament because we really want to make this a reality,” he said.
Khumalo stressed that the proposed measures were not intended to discourage foreign investment, but rather to ensure that international investors complemented, rather than displaced, local enterprise development.
“We love foreigners as Emaswati, we love investors, but we want investors that will invest in things where we cannot invest,” he said.
“We love foreign skills, but we want foreigners that will bring skills that are not here. Because if we don’t do that, then we are our own worst enemies as Emaswati.”
He said Eswatini remained committed to creating a welcoming investment climate while ensuring that foreign investment contributed specialised skills, technology and capital that would strengthen the local economy.
The Minister described the MSME sector as one of the pillars of economic growth, employment creation and innovation, saying empowering local businesses was essential to building a resilient and inclusive economy.
He noted that through the Citizens Economic Empowerment Act and the National MSME Policy 2024–2029, Government was seeking to improve access to markets, increase participation in economic activities and create a level playing field for smaller businesses.
