The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Dedet) will host the National Small Business Summit at the Ingwenyama Conference and Sports Resort in White River from 8 to 10 October 2013.
More than 500 entrepreneurs, 50 exhibitors, small business financiers, academia, consultants and experts, as well as small business policy-makers from the three spheres of government will attend the summit. The theme for this year’s summit is The Role of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in South Africa’s Industrialisation Path.
According to the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe, the Summit aims to provide a platform for stakeholders using the mandate of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) development in order to engage on government SMME programmes and find solutions to challenges facing small enterprises in South Africa.
”The summit will seek to interrogate the role of SMME’s in government’s implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP), it will attempt to determine the role of public and private sector procurement for SMMEs as a stimulant to sector growth, it will seek to determine the role of supplier development as a vehicle to building a symbiotic relationship between big and small businesses and to create a conducive environment for informal enterprises,” says Deputy Minister Thabethe.
Deputy Minister Thabethe and the Mpumalanga Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Ms Yvonne Phosa will lead deliberations and are both scheduled to deliver key speeches highlighting how their respective departments are supporting the growth of SMMEs.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe, Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Follow us on Twitter: @the_dti
Mohau Ramodibe
Director: Communication
Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism
Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Tel: 013 766 4271/4148
Fax: 013 766 9422/ 086 726 0337
Cell: 082 771 9950
E-mail: mohauram@mpg.gov.za
