Alan Winde, MEC of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism will today, 9 April 2014 attend the launch of a city-based business incubator supporting emerging entrepreneurs.
Shanduka Black Umbrellas have branches across the country and will re-launch their Cape Town office today. The company offers black-owned SME’s access to office space and support services for a monthly fee.
MEC Winde said sharing a working environment kept admin costs low. MEC Winde pointed to the success of business incubators such as the Bandwidth Barn.
“The incubator concept works because entrepreneurs have access to shared services, decreasing input costs. This is key because input costs are an inhibiting factor for the majority of small enterprises,” said MEC Winde.
According to a study done by the Bandwidth Barn, only 48% of ICT start-ups survive for more than three years.
“Business incubators complement our initiatives to support SMEs. We need to increase the number of businesses that survive beyond the crucial three year mark to become established enterprises which are able to employ more people. Since 2010 the Western Cape has supported the development of 11 556 new SMEs. Over the next three years we will allocate R118 million to enterprise development. I am thrilled to be attending this re-launch in light of the positive benefits this incubator will have for local entrepreneurs,” said MEC Winde.
For media queries, kindly contact:
Bronwynne Jooste, Spokesperson for MEC Alan Winde
Tel: 021 483 3550
Cell: 082 454 4365
E-mail: bronwynne.jooste@westerncape.gov.za
