Global Journal of Management and Business Research, C: Finance, Volume 22 Issue 4

factors. Those cited include agricultural credit problems that are not fully comprehended because of lack of information and not necessarily the failure by the SMEs in this sector but other factors as well with issues of climate change also impacting on agriculture based SMEs failing to perform. Consequently, it is imperative that such kind of information on externalities should be looked at when considering financing SMEs from a business risk analysis. These problems are associated with the imperfection of the information in the risk presences and in most cases, the SMEs fail to access support for their businesses. The failures due to the environmental factors and that of the markets, mostly may be beyond the SMEs, and such information should be considered. Therefore, the imperfections of the information affect almost all SMEs and it is important that this study looks at the critical issue of asymmetric of information as an important independent variable that is at play in Zimbabwe in determining accessibility of funding to various SMEs with their unique risk profiles. VIII. L oan T ax C oncessions and S ubsidies Loan tax concessions and subsidies are important independent variable that can stimulate growth and development. It is important to note that the globe is under siege by the coronavirus and this has impacted negatively on the SMEs sector warranting interventions that can accelerate their recovery, stabilisation and growth. Therefore, other countries have put in place a cocktail of concessions, rebates and subsidies to ensure recovery of the sector. Empirical evidence shows that in South Africa’s Johannesburg alone, they set 100 million Rands for SMEs with 50% being accessed as a grand (SABC News, 24 August 2021) while the other 50% is accessed by SMEs at concessionary rates. Meanwhile, the Kiwi Business Boost initiative was launched in the case of New Zealand by business.govt.nz (Durst & Gerstlberger, 2021). The government of New Zealand has dedicated resources for SMEs to help small businesses become more productive, sustainable, and inclusive for the benefit of the small businesses and this is in addition to a regime of research and development, and tax incentive which was launched by the government in 2019 to support SMEs activities by businesses (OECD, 2020). Tax incentives, research and development and concessions on loan borrowings form part of the strategic interventions that incentivises SMEs to have interest to borrow capital and this can have an impact in improving access to financing. The national government of New Zealand went further and launched research and development tax incentives to help small businesses become more responsible, productive, inclusive and competitive in the marketplace (Durst & Gerstlberger, 2021). The examples given in respect of South Africa and New Zealand, are important whereas in Zimbabwe, not much has been done to incentivise SMEs from a capital borrowing perspective. IX. A wareness of F unding O pportunities One of the key success factors for SMEs that determines access to financing relates to the flow of information in the financial services sector. Indeed, the financial services market is crucial for both SMEs and financial providers and it is argued that information should be accessible. Thus, funding opportunities publicised to give any aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to access the funds (Falkena et al. 2001). In order for SMEs to access financial services, they need information – which is important with regards to how funding can be accessed. The financial institutions in Zimbabwe have been criticised for not availing information which makes it difficult for SMEs to prepare their documents to apply for funds availed by the government. One of the limitation on this secrecy of information relates to bureaucratic constipation, bungling and secrecy of government facilities which are all examined in this study, and inadvertently, affects transparency of these facilities. In most cases, this study argues that they are shrouded and clouded in government-party conflation as it appears that the information about the facilities are availed more to those who have particular party inclinations in the political marketplace in Zimbabwe. As such availing the required information to enable the SMEs to apply for bank financing and also to access the location where the financing institutions disburse the money is not open to all and the selection process tend to follow politics rather than economics. In the majority of cases, the funding opportunities are relayed through governing political parties or those organisations that are aligned to the governing party such as the Affirmative Action Group through its provincial structure or any other associations such as the ruling party aligned and Killer Zivhu led Cross Border Traders Association – thus raising critical questions on fairness and transparency about the facilities. Information is key as it concerns about the awareness of funding opportunities for SMEs. In addition, information about the opportunities goes hand in hand with asymmetry in the sense that it is that relevant information, which is important and should be available and known to all players in the financial market and filter through to the beneficiaries (Agostino et al., 2008). The combination of these variables play major roles as independent variables with regards to SMEs financing. The commercial banks that are funded by government to disburse to the SMEs financing still charge exorbitant premium interests and administrative Taxonomy of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Constraints: An analytical Perspective of Zimbabwe Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue IV Version I Year 2022 ( ) C © 2022 Global Journals 7