Programme Director
SABEF President, Mr Lebo Gunguluza
SABEF Executive Director, Ms Matsi Modise
SABEF Provincial Directors
Renowned Entrepreneur and Speaker, Mr Kelly Ritchie
Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders present today
Distinguished guests.
Allow me to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to address this important gathering.
I am honoured to be here this morning to celebrate the launch of this important initiative, the Kasi-to-Kasi Development Tour.
I am also humbled by the tremendous growth that South African Black Entrepreneurs Forum (SABEF) has experienced since its establishment.
Your presence here today bears testimony to the thriving entrepreneurial spirit that is making a presence all over our country.
This event is also a reminder of the long journey traveled by black entrepreneurs in this country.
As you know, the oppression of black people under apartheid stifled of black enterprise development in significant ways. The apartheid state had a conceited strategy to deny black people the right to engage in enterprise and trade and tremendously undermined property ownership among black people in general.
This launch takes place at an opportune moment. It comes at a time when the country is engaged in a fierce discourse that centres on the need to uplift millions of our people from a life of poverty and squalor.
This debate is even more important to us as Gauteng province – a province that is now home to more than 12 million people and 23.7% of the country’s population.
Our population increase also means rising demands for housing, bulk infrastructure, health and education.
Despite the huge potential for growth in this province, we unfortunately continue to record economic growth of approximately 3% per annum. This sluggish figure is hardly enough to offset the challenges of poverty and unemployment.
Educational attainment in Gauteng also reveals a startling picture. More than a third of the people in this province have highest educational attainment levels between grades 0 and 9.
We also have a high unemployment rate, which is estimated at 23,7%.
Programme Director,
I am certain that you will concur that this gloomy picture points to a need to accelerate inclusive economic growth and sustainable employment creation in the province.
I am also sure that you will share our sentiment that the consequences of poverty, inequality and unemployment pose a significant threat to our welfare as a country.
This reality places a mammoth task on the shoulders of entrepreneurs like all of you present in this auditorium. The economic upliftment of the majority of the people in this country must form the key motivation for your work as entrepreneurs.
This gloomy picture impacts you directly. In practical terms, entrepreneurs cannot thrive in an environment defined by such startling levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality. You cannot flourish in a situation where the majority of your consumers have low buying power!
Who will buy your goods, products and services when 23.7% of people in this province are unemployed and or earning rock bottom wages?
This is something that you must seriously apply your minds to.
You must also bear in mind that behind every successful entrepreneur is a consumer that can actually afford to buy and consume the goods and services on offer.
This means you have an indispensible role to play in the struggle against the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
You cannot afford to sit on the fence as others wage the struggle to eliminate the barriers to a prosperous South Africa where unemployment, poverty and inequality are mere subjects of history.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The onus to tackle the challenges we face as a country does not only fall on your shoulders as entrepreneurs. The South African government, and the Gauteng Provincial Government in particular, have been hard at work to develop entrepreneurs and to support small businesses and cooperatives as catalysts for economic growth and job creation.
Since the advent of democracy, the small micro and medium enterprise sector has remained one of the key policy focus areas of the South African government.
The Gauteng Provincial Government has identified small business as critical for job creation and consequently wealth sharing and poverty alleviation.
Smaller firms account for a disproportionate share of gross job creation with almost 80% of all new jobs being created in firms with fewer than 50 workers. We have put in place a number of initiatives and measures aimed at boosting the performance of the small business sector.
The Department of Economic Development is committed to multiplying efforts to grow and support small businesses and cooperatives. We believe that this is vital for overcoming the challenges presented by unemployment, a growing population and rising demand for services in Gauteng. We have established a number of institutions and programmes to ensure that adequate financial and non-financial assistance is provided to the sector, for its long-term prosperity and that of the country as a whole.
As part of our commitment to small businesses, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), an agency of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development provides a range of support programmes to small businesses and cooperative support.
During this financial year, GEP provided tailor-made support and training to 231 SMMEs and 391 cooperatives and directly contributed to the sustenance of 761 jobs in our economy. The entity also provided financial support to nearly 60 small businesses in construction, wholesale and retail, agriculture, ICT, automotive and manufacturing sectors.
A total of 110 businesses owned by people with disabilities also received funding from GEP. The financial assistance provided to these businesses led to the creation of 402 job opportunities. This financial assistance is a lifeline to small businesses in Gauteng, especially given the hurdles that small businesses encounter in accessing funding from private financial institutions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You will also be pleased to learn that we also provide incubation to small businesses engaged in various sectors, including the automotive and technology sectors. This not only guarantees skills transfer to small businesses but also facilitates market access.
We have also assisted many small businesses across 20 townships in Gauteng. This project provides meaningful business support to township businesses. Many businesses across Gauteng townships have immensely benefitted from the marketing tools, equipment and the financial support we offer through this programme.
We are also powering ahead with our plans to help the informal businesses. In this regard, we will be supporting informal traders with training, and we will scale up our engagements with this sector. These engagements will culminate into an Informal Traders Summit, which will be held in the coming months.
Distinguished guests,
I must note that sometimes small businesses fail to take advantage of these programmes due to lack of information about how these - what these projects are, how they work, who qualifies to use them, what procedures are to be followed to get assistance and how to contact the institutions implementing the programmes.
We therefore need the assistance of organisations such as SABEF to disseminate this information so that small businesses in our townships can make maximum use of these opportunities.
I am certain that you will agree that addressing the employment challenge facing our country requires a very aggressive strategy aimed at expanding employment created by small businesses. Government also needs to ensure the regulatory and administrative burden is appropriate and does not unduly impinge on small firm creation, growth and expansion.
The kernel to a flourishing entrepreneurial culture lies in overcoming the constraints to entrepreneurial activity, which includes education and training, government policies to support entrepreneurs and SMMEs, and market access. Providing appropriate support to allow new start-ups to develop into established firms will also be important.
Programme Director,
Black entrepreneurs have travelled a long journey in this country. I hope that the history of injustice against black entrepreneurs in this country continues to inspire you in your journey to create wealth, empower others and achieve a South Africa free from the chains of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Thank you.
