- LEIGH-ANNE DE WITT Leigh-Anne de Witt is Eastern Cape head: client coverage, business clients at Standard Bank and a board member of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
Job creation at the scale needed to address SA’s challenges of poverty and inequality is not going to come from big business, and it cannot be solely put on government to solve unemployment.
Unemployment reached record highs in SA in 2021, with the Eastern Cape registering the highest unemployment rate in the country at more than 47%, and Nelson Mandela Bay having the worst unemployment rate of the eight metros.
Large manufacturers and corporates are shedding jobs, not creating them, as Fourth Industrial Revolution technology increasingly automates production lines and administrative work.
The public consensus is that education and employment are the keys to lifting the nation out of poverty and it is widely accepted that the solution lies in stimulating entrepreneurial activity and supporting the growth of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to create sustainable jobs.
At our current employment rates, we can no longer be passive supporters of entrepreneurship if we want to significantly improve the lives of the people in the metro.
The time has come for big business, government and supporting institutions to collaborate and be more impactful and relevant in stimulating entrepreneurship in the Bay.
Big business, government and supporting agencies have several enterprise development programmes, procurement opportunities and funding programmes to support SMMEs, however, there is still not enough awareness of these.
Many entrepreneurs, startups and even established small businesses do not know how to take advantage of these programmes that could propel them and open opportunities for growth.
Another barrier for many small businesses is the lack of knowledge when it comes to services and products offered by their banks.
It is important for entrepreneurs to know and partner with their banks to get the most benefit out of the partnership that will support their sustainability and growth.
About two-thirds of SMMEs run both their business and personal finances through a personal account and use personal lines of credit or borrow in the informal market or through family and friends. This is not sustainable for businesses which aspire to grow.
We have seen many small businesses fail because the owner lives on their turnover by withdrawing too much cash, making unwise purchases or struggling to collect monies owed, all rendering the business unsustainable.
We have also seen business owners let growth opportunities pass through lack of knowledge or lack of finances to fund growth.
It is critical for small businesses to have a good banking partner who can guide them along their journey.
Working in business banking, we see the passion and energy that people put into making their businesses a thriving reality.
However, we also often see a lack of vision o from business owners who think their market is limited to the metro or the province, rather than believing they can compete nationally and even internationally, especially in the growing markets of Africa and China.
Often, this comes down to a lack of knowledge — not knowing where to look for business opportunities beyond the provincial or national border, not knowing how to bid for or access an opportunity when it is found, and lacking resources in funding and exporting knowledge.
Financial management is clearly a much-needed skill, as are skills in managing human resources, sales and marketing, health and safety, legal compliance and so on, because often the business owner is an expert in the product or service they provide but lacks basic business know-how.
The chamber recognises these many challenges hampering start-ups from getting off the ground as well as limiting more established businesses from taking the next steps to growth and job creation.
To help unlock the “best kept secrets” and provide a single point of contact for business advisory, training, mentoring, information on support, funding programmes and business opportunities for SMMEs, the chamber is launching its Entrepreneurship Desk on February 28, sponsored by Standard Bank and LabourNet.
The service is there to assist budding entrepreneurs, startups, as well as established businesses facing growth challenges.
The desk will connect with the Chamber’s new SMME-focused mentoring programme and the established enterprise and exporting development programmes.
Chamber members in the SMME sector are invited to become members of the Entrepreneurship Desk.
There is no additional cost to be a member of this programme but we encourage members to register so that content and engagements can be accurately aligned to the businesses which seek support.
An exciting offer that will kick off the launch of the Entrepreneurship Desk will offer 50 members the opportunity to enrol for free in the “Thinkubate Academy” sponsored by Standard Bank — an online course presented by trainers who are business owners themselves, tailored to each business’s life-stage and specific needs.
The Thinkubate programme has already impacted more than 20,000 SMMEs across Africa, and we’re excited to be bringing it to Nelson Mandela Bay.
We are looking forward to the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Desk, where we hope to ignite and support entrepreneurial passion and flair and enable small businesses to seize opportunities for growth and job creation.