by Dr. Mike Angelo, an alumnus of AIU with a degree in Information Systems and a native of The Kingdom of Swaziland

THE KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND

When you wake up in the morning as the sun comes up, a nice breeze freshens your eyes, and they are greeted by a beautiful mountainous land scape, and that is my country, Kingdom of Swaziland under the King Mswati the III.

The Swazi people comprise a single tribe made up of several clans. They settled in the area during the mid-18th century when they were called the Nkosi Dlamini and eventually became known as the Swazis. The Swazis are a proud but peace-loving people with happy personalities and a keen sense of humour.

Swaziland became a self-governing state in 1967 when Sobhuza II was recognized internationally as a king and the country acquired its own flag. One of only three monarchy in Africa. Morocco and Lesotho also have Kings Africa’s sole remaining absolute monarchy.

THE ECONOMY OF SWAZILAND

The Kingdom of Swaziland Population: 1.1 million (UN, 2007): Capital: Mbabane: Area: 17,364 sq km (6,704 sq miles) Major languages: Swazi, English (both official), Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs, Monetary unit: 1 Lilangeni = 100 cents. GDP: $2.936 billion (2007 est.) GDP real growth rate: 2.3% Per capita GDP: $4,700 (2007 est.) Unemployment rate: 40% (2006 est.) Population below poverty line: 69%(2006) Inflation rate: 8.1% (2007 est.) Agriculture products: sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep Industries: coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textiles and apparel.

It is a Lower middle income country, estimated that 69% of the population lives in poverty. About 70% live in rural areas periodically ravaged by drought, resulting in food crises that threaten hundreds of thousands with hunger. Unemployment rate: 40% due to economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. Swaziland needs to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises.

I am grateful that I final have completed my project. The project is not just an individual achievement but also to the community I relate too. During my hours to give back to the community I realised that people need help in terms of how to manage their small enterprises. And I had to fill that gap by providing those services to my community.

As a result I have managed to serve the immediate community of small and medium enterprises to assist them in implementing the right business strategies in order to sustain business growth. The project has yielded positive results, in the sense that most of the people are now operating their own businesses and using the recommended strategies to grow business. However, there is still need for improvement on accountability and financial management. Follow-ups and motivation strategies are in progress within the community. These are the areas that I serve this community.

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