Rooted on our strategic priorities of Leading a world-class port city and investment destination, empowering small businesses and growing our membership engagement and value.
The Business Intelligence Hub seeks to effectively and efficiently promote trade and investment in Nelson Mandela Bay and to develop initiatives targeted at developing a cohort of sustainable and growing small businesses.
The Business Intelligence Hub is twofold; firstly it offers Trade and Investment interventions dedicated to attracting both new and retaining existing business in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve this mandate, the Chamber has established the Investor’s forum – a platform where decision-makers and captains of industry largely from national and multinational companies in NMB meet on a quarterly basis to discuss and review the concerns of investors, which in turn provides direction to the Chamber’s enabling environment interventions and key projects. Furthermore, the Chamber gathers business intelligence (data and information) on the economic conditions of NMB and its related sectors, opportunities and threats designed to inform and assist member companies and investors in their decision-making processes. Businesses can use this crucial information to gain an insightful understanding from both historical and present-day data. The intelligence further provides direction to the Chamber on our various lobbying interventions to ensure we proactively respond to the ever-changing business environment and conditions.
The Business Intelligence Hub further offers strategic and key Entrepreneurship Service interventions. These include the following:
The Entrepreneurship desk acts as a single contact where small business growth and sustainability interventions are housed. These include:
The Desk further drives awareness of existing developmental opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and connects small businesses with key strategic stakeholders. To date, 233 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been registered with the Desk with 8 pro-bono service providers.
The Chamber has collaborated with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) to launch the Eastern Cape Enterprise Development Programme. The programme was initiated in 2014 with the aim of addressing the crucial factors that hinder the growth and success of businesses. These factors often include errors and issues that could have been avoided had the MSMEs received the necessary support. Some of these issues include lack of entrepreneurial skills, inadequate access to appropriate technology, limited resources, and markets, unsteady institutional capacity, inadequate management skills and training, and most importantly, finance. Since the programme's inception, over 218 MSMEs have benefitted from participating in the eight phases of the programme, with 162 MSMEs set to receive support between 2023 and 2026.
The EXD program aims to empower MSMEs based in the Eastern Cape that have the potential to export, by providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively and successfully participate in international trade. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of Eastern Cape companies involved in sustainable and profitable exporting. The program is designed to address the primary obstacles that companies face before entering the export market. Launched in 2018, the program has so far trained 49 exporters, with many of them actively participating in the export market.
The Empowerment Network is a platform where businesses and professionals can come together to meet, connect, network, discuss common issues, form partnerships and collaborations, and collectively advocate for the betterment of Nelson Mandela Bay. The Empowerment Network comprises three distinct sub-networks, namely the Connect Network, the Mentorship Network, and the Women's Empowerment Network.
The Connect Network - is aimed at providing a platform for Business Chamber members and stakeholders to engage and network. The connect circle offers industry and sector-focused events that unpack strategies and/or catalytic projects that aim to contribute to the economic development of the Metro.
The Mentorship Network - Supports and empowers individuals within the business landscape of the Nelson Mandela Bay region. This programme offers mentees one-on-one sessions with a mentor over a period of three months. Within this programme, the mentor provides guidance and motivation to mentees seeking to establish themselves within the business fraternity and develop their careers.
The Women Empowerment Network - Aims to empower and further develop women in business through lobbying efforts, conversations, training, sharing of women-related market opportunities, and networking opportunities. Through these initiatives, the Women’s Empowerment Network provides a platform wherein individuals can access business opportunities through networking and address topical issues for women in the business landscape.
The objective of this initiative is to facilitate connections between the chamber members and Exporter Development Programme alumni and to provide them with opportunities to engage in international trade. This will be accomplished by organizing outward trade missions, inviting inward buying delegations, establishing business-to-business linkages, providing export skills and knowledge training, and connecting exporters with international trade institutions.
