JoGEDA

THE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY THAT POWERS ‘GO-GETTER’ ENTREPRENEURS IN THE RURAL PARTS OF THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE.

The Joe Gqabi Economic Development Agency (JoGEDA) is the development agency for the northeastern corner of the Province of the Eastern Cape in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality comprising the rural towns of Aliwal North, Mount Fletcher, Barkly East, Burgersdorp, Jamestown, Lady Grey, Maclear, Oviston, Rhodes, Rossouw, Sterkspruit, Steynsburg, Ugie and Venterstad.

It was here that a pioneering programme for the development of rural small businesses, powered by JoGEDA, partnered by the University of Stellenbosch Business School, and driven by CEO Ayanda Gqoboka from the onset, resulted in small businesses moving out of survivalist mode and becoming sustainable engines of economic growth and employment creation.

This was all part of Gqoboka’s strategy to “diversify economic activity in the district, unlock the potential for growth, and create local employment opportunities that would retain young people in the district.”

Simple But Strong Origin

In 2016 Ayanda Gqoboka, as Chief Executive for JoGEDA, approached the Small Business Academy (SBA) at the University of Stellenbosch to investigate the possibility of working with the SBA Development Programme to the benefit of the economy of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality.

What made him think this would work?

Ayanda Gqoboka explains: “In the early years of my executive management experience I worked in the banking sector and focused on support for SMEs. I learned the challenges that face small business. Many SMMEs don’t survive their first year due to a lack of business knowledge, the inability to create a business plan and poor market research amongst other. In the latter years I worked in Economic Development and then joined JoGEDA. I noticed the same trend.”

“In the Eastern Cape though, the situation is more dire; more than 35% of the population in the district is unemployed. The district suffers from lack of investment and business knowledge platforms, the negative impact of increased migration of people in search for employment opportunities in urban centers and metropolitan areas. We see the daily struggle of small businesses in the area operating as survivalist businesses. We needed a more strategic intervention: tailor-made training and mentorship of small-business owners in lowincome areas,” he explains.

In late 2016, this led to the launch of the SBA Development Programme in the Eastern Cape. The programme’s curriculum was the same as in the Western Cape, but a few adjustments had to be made because the delivery had to take place in Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape, almost a thousand kilometres from Cape Town. What made the foundation of this programme strong was that it was developed out of research that had been conducted by Stellenbosch University.

Nosipho Kholutsoane

CLEAR OBJECTIVE

The main aim of JoGEDA was to stimulate economic growth in the Joe Gqabi District on behalf of the region’s three local municipalities. The programme was therefore not training for training’s sake but to see a meaningful change in the small business sector that can be calculated in rands and cents. “We have success stories that speak for themselves,” Gqoboka explains. “Hence we have seen both the small businesses and the programme grow exponentially by themselves.”

OUTSTANDING SUCCESS STORIES

Vintage Car Restoration Business

Nosipho Kholutsoane from Mount Fletcher started her vintage cars restoration business with a R2,000 loan from her husband in 2014she now makes over R50,000 in commission a year fixing old cars.

Khulotsoane says what she learned at JoGEDA’s SBA programme helped her grow her business.

She started Lereku Trading Classic Cars after watching a television programme on vintage cars, and falling in love with the concept.

Thandeka Kama

The first car she restored was a badly rusted 1947 Pontiac. The 39-year-old now restores and hires out vintage cars, and works with vintage car enthusiasts from big cities and around the world. Her business may be located in a deep rural area, but there are advantages to this: Mount Fletcher is on R56 which is the shortest route between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This has connected her to customers from big cities in the county and international travellers.

“What is more encouraging is that all the small businesses that participated have created new employment opportunities and most of them are keen to develop the skills of the local youth and to create opportunities for them. We all know that the youth love dabbling in cars – so who would not want to work on car restoration projects? The opportunities for growth there are immense,” says Gqoboka.

B&B and Camping Site

A massive dinosaur fossil find in Qhemerha in the Eastern Cape in 2018 shone the international spotlight on the rural town bordering Lesotho, attracting researchers and palaeontology tourists, hikers, anglers and history buffs, from South Africa as well as globally, to work on the site. Two entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to provide much needed prompt but world-class accommodation; Thandeka Kama and Yoliswa Sigudu set up Sigudu Bed

& Breakfast on Yoliswa’s 9 ha family property in the Drakensberg foothills close to the Orange River.

Farmer and livestock trader Thandeka Kama drew on her childhood experience of sheep and cattle herding for the business, while Yoliswa Sigudu shares her fascination with the area’s cultural heritage and internationally recognised dinosaur graveyard as a tour guide and host of the B&B and camping site.

The JoGEDA-SBA programme helped them to sharpen their financial management skills, enabling them to ask the right questions and making them less dependent on accountants’ advice. They even plan to enrol in the USB MBA programme later.

“We have loved the knowledge and networks gained on the SBA programme. Times are changing and you have to be able to continually adapt and adjust, that’s why we want to go on to the MBA,” the entrepreneurs say.

Yoliswa Sigudu adds:” We have created value out of being in a rural setting. We have the great advantage of being able to host guests mostly outdoors in the fresh air, for hiking, running, fishing, camping. People can camp and we offer a safe environment for a getaway with lots to do, or just relaxing in the mountain air.”

Sigudu got an opportunity to travel to Dublin, Ireland to benchmark on hosting international guests.

Communications Company

Bomikazi Nkolongwane started her business, Amani Communications in 2014. It was tough going from the first day. She did not have a proper business plan and ran the business informally with very little finance.

Today her impressive client list includes Senqu Municipality, Joe Gqabi District Municipality, the Film and Publication Board, Arengo6, African Union Foundation, and Chris Hani District to name a few.

Her services range from media relations to integrated marketing communication plans, social media management and publication development.

“As part of the JoGEDA-SBA programme I learned how to structure my business and most importantly gained invaluable insight from my USB MBA Alumnus, Johan Wepener, who offered fresh perspective and sound advice,” she says. “Having an experienced mentor is vital for any small business owner to overcome one’s challenges.”

She adds: “The programme covered training in general management, finance, marketing, computer skills, business plan development, personal development, and practical workshops. Above financial and operational knowledge to grow and strengthen your business, the programme also creates networking opportunities and offers a mentorship programme.”

Bomikazi says the programme has taught her how to believe in herself and in the potential her business has to grow. “I currently use freelancers and outsource certain activities but I’ve realised that if I apply some strategic thought I will be able to grow my business to such an extent that I can employ people permanently and ultimately become a force to reckon with in the public relations and communications industry.”

Rural Farming

The Joe Gqabi District Municipality is primarily rural and subsistence farming is the mainstay of the area. Despite the enormous potential for farming and agricultural growth farmers lack access to business and market information as well as financing and land. This has not been lost on Gqoboka, hence the programme also turned attention to farming-related SMMEs.

One of the farmers who participated in the JoGEDA-SBA programme is Wilfred Makaphela, a retired school principal. Wilfred grew up in rural Esiwonyeni with his father funding his education by sheering wool and selling sheep and cattle. He had been farming in Sterkspruit for 13 years when he joined the programme.

Wilfred farms with Bonsmara cattle supplying agents of Karen Beef and Sparta and he sells the curled cows to abattoirs and to private households for traditional purposes. He employs two permanent staff members and despite the many challenges of theft, veld fires and access to finance, his vision is to become the leading supplier of Bonsmara cattle in South Africa.

“The SBA programme has truly been an eye opener for me in terms of how to management my business. I have now learnt how to identify opportunities and build on them, how to manage any threats and weaknesses and how to market my livestock. I really would like to start giving back to the community by sharing the knowledge that I’ve learnt through the SBA with illiterate, upcoming farmers,” he says.

Another uplifting success story from the programme is that of cattle and sheep farmer, Mr. Lawrence Maduna. When Maduna joined the programme he had one farm and banks were declining to finance the acquisition of a second farm as his farming activities were growing. Through the programme was given a Mentor, a successful farmer who assisted him to manage his farming administration and operations. At the end of the programme he was able to write his own business plan and prove capacity to the financiers and ultimately managed to acquire second farm.

He was further nominated as a Best Farmer in the Eastern Cape. In the mentor’s words– ‘Since joining the SBA programme, Maduna has overcome his computer illiteracy, gained accounting and financial knowledge, allowing him to work closely with his bookkeeper, learned how to do market research, how to run his own advertising campaigns and reaching the market in a more structured, agile way’.” Gqoboka firmly believes that by intervening meaningfully in the businesses of rural farming, JoGEDA can grow the sector and address unemployment and sustainably at the same time.

Mr. Wilfred Makaphela

COLLABORATIONS – AS A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Ayanda Gqoboka expounds: “Partnerships are what are making this programme a success. From the onset the partnership between JoGEDA and the University of Stellenbosh got us going. The university’s Small Business Academy with its alumni were critical in developing an effective programme. The support of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and the provincial Department for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism were also critical.”

“Other partners who play a critical role are ABSA Bank, SANTAM insurance training our farmers on financial skills; POTATO SA providing mentorship to our emerging farmers that specialize in potato farming to scale their production. Lastly, we have partnered with Decidious Fruit Development Chamber in our pursuit to develop 100 ha stone fruit orchard in the Senqu Municipality along Oranje River,” he adds.

An important aspect of the SBA Development Programme is that participants ‘graduate’ with a certificate from Stellenbosch University.

Therefore, care was taken to design a programme that would be in line with all the requirements of, firstly, the business school, secondly, Stellenbosch University, and thirdly, the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa. That is why Stellenbosch Business School’s SBA Development Programme is accredited by the HEQC of the Council on Higher Education under the auspices of Stellenbosch University. Also playing a significant role in the development of the programme were Edith Kennedy (the then head of stakeholder relations at Stellenbosch Business School) and Prof Salomé van Coller-Peter (the then head of the MPhil in Management Coaching at Stellenbosch Business School).

The programme is registered as a short course with Stellenbosch University and provides flexible learning to meet the specific needs of owners of micro and small businesses so that it does not take them away from their businesses.

“As in the words of painter Pablo Picasso who once said, 'Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.' We believe in precision execution of our plans and partnering with other organizations that have similar goals,” the CEO says.

USB & JoGEDA - Committed to the programme

Gqoboka’s commitment to the programme stems from his time working at various banks; Standard Bank, Nedbank and FNB, where he focussed on SMEs and learned to appreciate not only the challenges, but the value of small business to families, communities and the overall economy.

Gqoboka never lost sight of the value of entrepreneurs and this lead him as CEO of JoGEDA to urge the University of Stellenbosch Business School lecturers to agree to travel all the way to Aliwal North to deliver the programme where it was needed.

As explained by Dr Marietjie TheronWepener, founder of the SBA: “Ayanda Gqoboka, CEO of the Joe Gqabi Economic Development Agency (JoGEDA), saw an advertisement for the SBA Development Programme in an inflight magazine. He thought that it was worth investigating. He came to see us and persuaded us to start the programme; but in Aliwal North!”

She continues: “The distance between Cape Town and this rural part of South Africa meant that lecturers and the mentorship team had to fly to the closest city, namely Bloemfontein, and then travel by car for about 200 kilometres to reach Aliwal North. Mentors – typically Stellenbosch Business School alumni – were not as readily available, and at the start of the programme, senior mentors from the Western Cape had to travel up-country. Over time, more mentors came on board, including a few top students from the SBA programme itself. Today it is a resounding success!”

Gqoboka concludes: “The thing that makes working with entrepreneurs fulfilling though is that their businesses are usually based on something they love and can do well, and in most cases, for almost no pay or remuneration; the passion and commitment are guaranteed! The JoGEDA-SBA programme is open for business – so we would like to see more entrepreneurs and partners come forward, for the development of the people of our district.” 

CONTACT DETAILS

Tel: 051 023 0600

Email: info@jogeda.co.za

Web: www.jogeda.co.za

Address: 27 Dan Pienaar Avenue, Springs, Aliwal North, 9750