Mentorship Forum: FRONT: Business Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen and Nashua Sales Director Candice Parker . BACK: Michelle Brown (Brown’s PR), Lucia Mtshake (NMU), Lungi Mtshutshana (Business Chamber), Bev Gaia of Gaia Marketing and Nwabisa Funde (Business Chamber).
Picture credit: Cherie Theron
21 October 2021
Chamber to launch SMME focused mentorship programme as value-add to members
As part of a value-add to its member companies, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber will be launching a mentorship programme which is aligned to its goal of empowering Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to thrive and grow, says Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
The programme will officially be launched in the first quarter of 2022 consisting of 20 mentees who will be accepted from a pool of applicants from member businesses. With a database of 40 mentors representing business leaders from different economic sector backgrounds across the Metro, the mentoring will run for three 3 months with the key focus on providing tailored one-on-one sessions with mentees. The larger mentor availability will allow for matching correctly based on the mentees requirements.
“To address the high unemployment rate in South Africa, the government has identified SMMEs and entrepreneurship as an important economic driver to create jobs through to 2030,” emphasises van Huyssteen. “”In Nelson Mandela Bay unemployment levels currently stand at the 40% level and it is the Chamber’s view that future jobs are most likely to come from the SMME sector. As such, the Chamber has elevated the importance of SMMEs to Committee level within its own structure in order to actively drive support to these businesses, with the goal of setting them up to succeed.”
Headed up by Nashua’s Sales Director Candice Parker, who has a demonstrated background in establishing and executing mentorship programmes, the mentorship will be offered only to Business Chamber member businesses and their employees to empower and offer support to high potential individuals. The mentors will be offering guidance and motivation to individuals looking to establish themselves within the business fraternity or their small businesses, Parker said.
“We strongly believe in the power of networking and what you can achieve if the right mentorship programme is offered. I have been able to grow in my career through mentorship from many leaders in the Bay and through this programme, we want to adopt the same approach to empower the next potential business leaders to achieve their goals. It’s important to understand that the mentor and mentee can get equal benefit from the programme,” Parker said.
She has the support of some of the Bay’s leading businesswomen such as Michelle Brown, the Founder and Managing Director of Brown’s PR, Bev Gaia the Founder and Owner of Gaia Marketing, Heather Dutton, Short Term Broker at Profin Financial Services, and Lucia Mtshake, a Residence Manager at Nelson Mandela University.
To kick-off the programme, which will commence from February until April 2022, a maximum of 20 mentees and 20 mentors during the initial phase will be absorbed. Additionally, only one candidate will be accepted from each company to allow for a diverse spread of mentees. Another important aspect is that the mentee’s employer must be a member of the Business Chamber and if not, they should register during the application process.
At this stage, only candidates who reside in Nelson Mandela Bay will be considered. They must be available to attend the kick-off session and be flexible enough to fit in with the mentor’s availability for the duration of the programme. The second phase of the programme will kick-off in July until September 2022.
Issued by:
Sibongile Dimbaza
Media and Publications Officer