OVERVIEW
Development finance and SMME support Many small businesses operate in trade and accommodation.
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upport for the small business sector is not always easy to measure. Advice and mentoring are important but it’s in turnover figures where concrete results can be seen. Bushbuckridge entrepreneur Freddy Sibuyi (pictured) took full advantage of the advice and support that Tholoana Enterprise Programme of the SAB Foundation had to offer. Turnover of Freddy and Sons Maintenance and Engineering jumped from a little over R602 000 to more than R2.2-million and he added 10 employees to his original staff complement of five. The SAB Foundation has provided over R6-million in grant funding and business support to 60 entrepreneurs in Mpumalanga. Collective turnover has increased by 324% and 121 new jobs have been created. Research done by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) shows that a high percentage of SMMEs in Mpumalanga are in the trade and accommodation sector. Whereas the national figure is about 43%, in Mpumalanga it is closer to 50%. Seda supports several incubators in the province: Furntech, furniture manufacturing, White River; Mobile Agri-Skills Development & Training (MASDT), agricultural training, Nelspruit; Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative (MSI), stainless steel processing, Middelburg (with Columbus Stainless); Timbali floriculture, Nelspruit; Ehlanzeni TVET College Rapid Incubator Renewable Technologies, Nelspruit. Seda is a subsidiary of the National Department of Small Business Development (DSBD). Seda is not a financial agency, focussing rather on training and administrative support, although the agency will help SMMEs get in touch with financial bodies. Sappi’s long-term Ngodwana mill project will spend more than R600-million on procuring goods and supplies from broad-based black economic empowered companies, of which R51-million will go to SMMEs. Other companies supporting SMMEs through their buying chain include Woolworths and Anglo American. Woolworths is funding
ONLINE RESOURCES Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency: www.mega.gov.za Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative: www.mpstainless.co.za Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.org.za
MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2019/20
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TechnoServe to ensure that small tomato growers can grow produce that will meet the demanding standards of the retailer, and to help them expand production. Anglo American’s Zimele runs four enterprise development and investment funds. Zimele runs hubs related to the supply chains of platinum, thermal coal and, with Mondi, forestry. The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) is the implementing agent of the provincial government’s SMME support policy.An agreement has been signed with Standard Bank to launch an SME Fund with a capitalisation of R500-million.
