Development finance and SMME support

Wild Coast farmers are supplying new markets.

Queens Greens, a small farming company, has recently expanded into new markets with the support of the Wild Coast Sun.

A new borehole and irrigation system (pictured) has been provided to Queens Greens, enabling them to go beyond being a supplier to the resort and to start supplying local markets with fresh produce.

The Wild Coast Sun’s Enterprise Development Programme has trained and supported seven local SMMEs, which employ a total of 42 people. The resort aims to achieve 90% procurement of all goods and services from BBBEE level 1 suppliers within the next five years.

In early 2022, the Wild Coast Sun hosted a two-day SMME Business and Networking Conference which was attended by 150 people. Among the bodies represented were the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT), the Eastern Cape Gambling Board, the Winnie MadikizelaMandela Local Municipality and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), as well as several SMME financing houses.

Work is underway to refurbish several state-owned industrial parks. Not only will areas like the Dimbaza Industrial Park assist SMMEs with affordable space, the programme has so far created 379 jobs and involved 71 local SMMEs. Provincial government departments are encouraged to buy from SMMEs and the current administration had spent by December 2021 58% of its procurement budget (R24.3-billion) purchasing from local suppliers.

The National Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has a Shared Economic Infrastructure Facility, which is investing R34.7-million in support of Eastern Cape projects: the KwaNtozonke Product Market in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality and the Chris Hani Co-operative Development Centre in Chris Hani District. A further R1.9-million has been allocated to 141 informal and micro businesses in the Amathole and Joe Gqabi district municipalities.

Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) has a project called Ntinga (“to soar” in Xhosa) whereby suppliers receive training and are mentored for 18 months.

Online Resources

Eastern Cape Development Corporation: www.ecdc.co.za

Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency: www.ecrda.co.za

Two of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation’s seven business units are devoted to small business: Development Finance and Enterprise Development. The ECDC has several financial products tailored to SMMEs. The ECDC and the Technology Innovation Agency (ITA) jointly run the TIA-ECD Innovation Seed Fund Programme, which aims to identify and cofund earlier stage technology innovation projects. Help Desks have been established to support small business in Port Elizabeth and East London.

The Small Enterprise Development Agency is an agency of the DSBD which gives non-financial support to entrepreneurs through training, marketing and assistance in the writing of business plans. The Seda Technology Programme (Stp) helps potential businesses become trading entities. ■