Development finance and SMME support

Small businesses are getting a head start in renewable energy.

Although the arrival of wind turbines and solar farms has been good for the Northern Cape economy, more can be done to involve local residents in the business side of the renewable energy economy. There is a feeling that fractional community ownership and charitable trusts are not enough in themselves.

To that end, the Northern Cape will be one of three provinces in which Skills Development Zones (SDZs) will be sited over the next five years, as part of the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan. National government has committed R1.6-billion to this project.

As part of the Northern Cape’s renewable energy strategy, SMMEs will be supported to become installers of rooftop solar PV panels. The support will enable small businesses to get loans and enter powerpurchase agreements. As of March 2023, more than 50 SMMEs had received PV green-card training.

In addition, 2023 will see the launch of the Northern Cape Solar Business Incubator (NOCSOBI). A provincial Contractor Development programme is working to help small contractors become competitive. The aim is to install 50 small contractors on an incubation programme where business skills will be taught.

A fund has been launched to provide concessionary funding to local entrepreneurs. The R75-million Northern Cape Blended SMME Fund is a joint initiative of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDaT) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and is part of a broader enterprise development programme. DEDaT is also partnering with the National Department of Telecommunications and Digital Technologies, the National Electronic Media Institute South Africa and the Vaal University of Technology to train unemployed young people in cellphone repairs.

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) will spend about R4-billion on road maintenance and improvements in the province over three years. A sum of R50-million has been set aside for entry-level road maintenance subcontractors and of the R500-million to be spent on routine maintenance, something between 40% and 60% will go to SMMEs. Operation Vala Zonke, the province’s pothole-

Online Resources

Northern Cape Solar Business Incubator: www.nocsobi.org.za

Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism: www.northern-cape.gov.za/dedat

Northern Cape Economic Development Agency: www.nceda.co.za

NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2023/24

Sector Insight

More than 50 SMMEs have received PV green-card training.

repair initiative, created more than 120 jobs in the course of 2022. The province’s biggest new mine, the Vedanta Zinc International mine at Aggeneys, spends extensively on corporate social responsibility.

SMMEs will be catered for in the planned Kathu Industrial Park which is being supported by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and companies in the mining sector. The park’s infrastructure will enable smaller companies to be in a position to tender for supply contracts to mines.

The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) is a partner in the Kimberley incubation hub related to the Kimberley International Diamond and Jewellery Academy. The Kimberley Diamond and Jewellery Incubator (KIDJA) helps establish SMMEs, supports existing business and trains students. ■