The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has launched an SMME and Entrepreneurship Desk which is dedicated to promoting economic development through the provision of support to Small Medium and Micro Enterprises in the Metro.
The Chamber has noted the challenges faced by SMMEs concerning their lack of awareness of programmes offered by business, government, supporting agencies and financial institutions. The Desk’s official launch aims to provide awareness to SMMEs within the Bay and to relevant stakeholders who offer support to the growth of the sector, says Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Chamber. “Equally important, this supports the Chamber’s drive to promote the diversification of the local economy through the development and growth of SMMEs and entrepreneurs.”
“We have partnered with some of our members and key stakeholders to pool our resources and capabilities together in order to offer services which help set up small businesses for success,” she emphasises. We are therefore thrilled that the SMME and Entrepreneurship Desk has come to life and will become a key component of the Chamber’s initiatives going forward.”
“As our lives and businesses shift from two years of surviving a pandemic to learning how to live with it, this is a good time to be re-thinking and re-imagining what type of future we want to create. While the pandemic has brought much hardship, it has also turned the world onto its head and has opened up the door to new gaps and opportunities, especially for entrepreneurs. We are hoping that this new era that we are moving into, will be about innovation, expansion of boundaries and being open to new collaborations and possibilities. This is particularly a space where entrepreneurs, who are agile, flexible and responsive to change can thrive,” said Van Huyssteen.
She said the Desk aims to provide a single point of contact for business advisory, training, mentoring, and information on support, funding programmes and business opportunities for SMMEs. The Chamber has included the following services within the Desk: Enterprise Development, access to funding opportunities, access to markets, advisory support/help desk, access to business intelligence, tender documentation support, mentoring programme, access to skills development and training, webinars and topics of interest to SMMEs and exposure linkages.
The Desk has further established a partnership with Standard Bank and LabourNet as the main sponsors. The partnership allows SMMEs to make use of the initiatives or training programmes offered by each organisation.
The Desk’s services include access to markets, finance, advisory support, networks, skills development and business development. The desk is aimed at helping SMMEs from start-ups to those generating R20m and above in turnover. As part of access to finance, Standard Bank will not only offer its normal lines of credit but will also ensure that members of the Desk know about their Enterprise Development Stand-Alone Funding, as well as the solution set-up by them to assist business customers who have purchase orders from public or private sector entities with financing of up to R250 000 per contract.
“Every business needs a strong partnership with their bank and Standard Bank is serious about being a bank for entrepreneurs and through the Desk will also be offering general banking information and expert guidance for businesses in every sector irrespective of where they bank. Through our partnership with the Chamber, we would like to take businesses to their next level by helping them find innovative ways to meet new challenges as they arise,” said Leigh-Anne De Witt, Standard Bank’s Eastern Cape head: client coverage, business clients.
In relation to access to skills development, LabourNet offers a number of free online training courses such as CCMA Proceedings, Intro to Skills Development Legislation, Employee Recruitment and Selection, Initiating and Chairing a Disciplinary Hearing, Introduction to Labour Law: BCEA and Contracts, and Performance Management for Managers. In addition, it will provide free advisory services for each of its service offerings, including Industrial Relations, Occupational Health and Safety, Skills Development and Employment Equity Consulting, B-BBEE Consulting, and Payroll Services.
LabourNet’s Managing Director Robert Niemand said: “LabourNet has long been the preferred labour legislation compliance partner to small and medium businesses in the Eastern Cape. It is our privilege to extend this assistance by partnering with the Business Chamber on the SMME and Entrepreneurship Desk project by providing free training and advisory support services. In this way, we will help SMMEs to mitigate their compliance risk and to improve their human resource management so that they can become employers of choice and grow their businesses, thereby leading to greater employment opportunities in Nelson Mandela Bay.”
Van Huyssteen encouraged the stakeholders and participants to not only make use of the services and support provided through the Desk, but also to “influence and shape how it evolves”.
“This is an initiative which should belong to all who participate and what they put into it, is what they will get out of it, and hopefully so much more.”
