The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will hold the national Annual Small Business Summit at the President Hotel in Bloemfontein from 10 to 12 October 2011. More than 500 entrepreneurs, small business financiers, academia, consultants and experts, as well as small business policy-makers from the three spheres of government from all of the country’s provinces will attend the summit.
The theme for this year’s summit is Propelling Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises Support as an Engine for Growth and Employment. The theme seeks to provide a platform to engage on programmes and interventions that can propel the growth of the sector by providing new and innovative ways and deal with identified blockages for enterprises growth and expansion.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Ms Elizabeth Thabethe will deliver a keynote address at the summit. She will be accompanied by the Free State MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Mr Mxolisi Dukwana, as well as the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Councillor Thabo Manyoni.
According to the Deputy Director-General of Empowerment and Enterprise Development Division at the dti, Mr Sipho Zikode, the main purpose of the summit is to provide a platform for stakeholders with the mandate of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) development and growth for engagement on government SMME policy and strategy to find solutions for challenges facing small enterprises in South Africa.
“In line with its theme, this year’s summit will be focusing on various kinds of support that government provides to SMMEs with the aim of not only making them sustainable, but to specifically assist them access domestic and international markets. Government has set itself an ambitious target of creating five million jobs and reducing unemployment from 25% to 15% by 2020. The new economic growth path has a series of micro- and macro-economic measures aimed at helping the country reach its growth targets. One of these is supporting and promoting small businesses and entrepreneurship. the dti recognises and acknowledges the critical role that small business will play in ensuring that that objective is achieved, both in terms of job creation and eradication of poverty,” says Zikode.
He adds that one of the topical and critical issues that will be discussed at the summit will be the benefits that the SMME sector will reap from South Africa’s membership of BRICS after the country joined the important bloc of emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China in December last year.
Other topics for discussion are: Creating demand for small enterprise products and services, Informal sector: situational analysis and benchmarking, Increasing supply for financial and non-financial support and Reducing small enterprise regulatory constraints.
Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele
Tel: 012 394 1643
Cell: 074 299 8512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedti.gov.za
the dti to Host Annual Small Business Summit in Bloemfontein
