OVERVIEW
Development finance and SMME support An industrial park at Kathu will boost SMMEs.
A
n opportunity to move materials and do production drilling for Kumba Iron Ore has not only spurred Kele Mining Solutions, a Northern Cape SMME, to hire 150 people, it has led to the establishment of a subsidiary logistics company. Kefilwe and Jomo Khomo (pictured with some of their staff) experienced a huge increase in turnover when they teamed up with minerals giant Kumba, which has set aside R1-billion specifically for local procurement and supplier development. The company’s supplier development programme also gives advice on business practices and marketing. With a head office in Kathu, Kele is expanding to the platinum sector in Rustenburg and looking for business in Botswana. The Khomos are also doing their bit for SMME development by contracting other local businesses when they can. 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 focus of the park will be metals. The park’s infrastructure will enable smaller companies to be in a position to tender for supply contracts to mines. The Industrial Development Corporation is one of the biggest funders of projects in the Northern Cape. Through the IDC’s Transformation and Entrepreneurial Scheme, a black economic empowerment project is underway at Kakamas, where emerging farmers are planting citrus. A 2018 conference on renewable energy laid out opportunities in this growing sector for interested SMMEs. The theme of the conference was “Driving economic growth and transformation through renewable energy”. A provincial local economic development (LED) forum was held with a focus on finance and commercial banking. The opportunities for small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) were explained
ONLINE RESOURCES Industrial Development Corporation: www.idc.co.za Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.org.za Small Enterprise Finance Agency: www.sefa.org.za
61
SECTOR INSIGHT Kumba will spend R1-billion on local suppliers and procurement.
and various supplier development and training programmes were detailed. The provincial government supports small enterprises, rural enterprises and co-operatives through business and financial management training and procurement of goods from SMMEs. In partnership with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), cadets receive training before receiving work places at various municipalities. There is a plan to create a Provincial Incubation Strategy and planners are also looking into creating a specialist Renewable Energy Incubator to support smaller entrants into that growing sector. Many programmes focus on agricultural production and food security. NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2019/20
