Speech by the Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, at the Khayelitsha Business Forum Gala Dinner
Programme Director,
Members of the Business Forum, Business owners and entrepreneurs, Government officials,
Ladies and gentlemen
We are honoured to be part of this event as it marks a great evening of celebrating local businesses who, against formidable odds, rose to accomplish noteworthy successes in the business arena. Venturing into entrepreneurship is not an easy step, it often calls for boldness and commitment. Business men and women often have to go where only a few dare to tread. The government prioritises enterprise development and aims to cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship.
As a country we currently face developmental challenges of poverty and unemployment. Government by itself cannot single-handedly tackle these challenges; poverty and unemployment compel us as a nation to pull together and co- operate in order to prevail. As Henry Ford once rightly pointed out, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”. It is with this in mind that the Department of Small Business Development (dsbd) gladly welcomes opportunities like these to interact with community initiated programmes such as this one, the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF).
Firstly we would like to applaud the KDF for their pro-active approach towards the development of their own community. Government recognises that Township and Rural businesses play a significant role in uplifting communities through creating employment and providing services and products to our people thus contributing greatly to Local Economic Development. With the positive backing of government; the real custodians of local economic development and growth are the communities themselves.
In line with country’s National Development Plan (NDP) of creating 24 million jobs by 2030 the dsbd has come up with the following key strategic objectives:
- To facilitate the development and growth of small businesses and co-operatives to contribute to inclusive and shared economic growth and job creation through public and private sector procurement.
- To facilitate radical economic transformation through increased participation of small businesses and cooperatives in the mainstream economy
- To advocate for a conducive regulatory environment for small businesses and co-operatives to enable access to finance, investment, trade and matters
- Facilitate partnerships with all spheres of government as well as the private sector to ensure mutual cooperation that will benefit small businesses and co-operatives
To this end the dsbd has created interventions that will ensure the accomplishment of these objectives. These include, amongst other programmes:
- Linking small businesses and co-operatives to private sector value chains through Enterprise and Supplier Development initiatives. One example is what Pick ‘n Pay is doing to procure agricultural goods from emerging and small farmers. Recently, Pick ‘n Pay reported to the Portfolio Committee on Small Business that they procure a 70% of the produce from the local market and only 30% is imported. This gives our local emerging and small farmers an opportunity to tap into this market opportunity.
- We are now rolling support to informal businesses including street traders, hawkers, spaza shops, and other township businesses with technical and business development services including access to machinery, equipment and tools through Informal Business Upliftment Facility (IBUF).
- We are in the process of decentralising business support services to townships in partnership with other institutions such as local municipalities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges (former FET colleges) and universities. Our agency, Seda, has a satellite office in Khayelitsha. The intention of these structures is to make it easy for small businesses and co-operatives to gain access to support without travelling long distances and spending large sums of money. We are mindful of the fact that we need to improve the quality of business advice provided by our agencies.
- Programme Director, I am glad to note that the Micro Franchising Initiative, which is part of the department’s five year strategic plan, was launched here in Khayelitsha in 2011, where a number of stakeholders got together to talk about the type of support needed for township businesses. Out of that launch, five businesses were identified as ready for packaging as micro franchise opportunities. You may be aware that we do not have to look up to mainstream franchising in order for individuals to access opportunities, which by the way is very expensive and most potential entrepreneurs cannot afford. With Micro Franchising, we aim to identify successful and profitable small businesses and package them as micro franchise opportunities. You will agree with me that this is an initiative where as a packaged business opportunity, you will replicate yourself not only in Khaytelitsha but throughout the country.
- One important programme that addresses the needs of SMMEs to access machinery, tools and equipment is the Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP). In the Western Cape province, this programme has approved 28 applications with a value of R14 million. Of this 28, 19 applications are businesses owned by men and 5 are women owned businesses and 4 are businesses owned by both men and women. Our intention is to change the lives of business owners and entrepreneurs so that they, in turn, can change the lives of their families, employees and the community at large.
In conclusion, Programme Director
I would like to congratulate all the business owners and entrepreneurs for their dedication in uplifting the economy of Khayelitsha. Without you, Khayelitsha will become another dormitory where people live the area in the morning to work for someone else and come back in the evening to sleep. But with your presence, we are seeing the development of mall, commercial hubs, craft centres, car dealers, manufacturing plants and so on, here in the township.
Thank you to the Khayelitsha Development Forum for your leadership and visionary abilities to invite us so that we can celebrate these successful businesses together with yourselves. May other townships learn from your spirit of working together and be inspired to do the same for their communities.
To those who are already in business and those who are still aspiring remember that this quote from the American small business expert Melinda F. Emerson, "Either I win or I learn, but I never lose!"
Thank you.
