Building an ecosystem that makes business sense

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS – 13 JANUARY 2020

The City of Cape Town is a proud partner of the Western Cape Smart Procurement initiative since 2014. Read more below:

The Smart Procurement initiative underpins our commitment to empower businesses to reach their full potential. This in turn enables them to make a significant contribution to our city’s economy by creating much needed jobs for our communities.

The Smart Procurement Model promotes access to markets and training for SMMEs, while providing them with a platform to showcase their products and services.

I am delighted to confirm that, linked to this event, we have rolled out a mentorship programme for SMMEs where entrepreneurs are guided on their specific business needs.

It was a pleasure to engage with last year’s participants to gain valuable feedback on the business owners’ experiences during the mentorship period. This has given me the opportunity to reflect on what worked and look at areas of improvement to ensure maximum benefit for our participants in the mentorship training.

I am excited to announce that entries for businesses to participate in the next round of the Smart Procurement Programme will open in the first week of February 2020.

Businesses must fulfil the following criteria to qualify for the training:

• ­         The business must be based in Cape Town and owned by a South African Citizen
• ­         The entrepreneur must be in operation for a minimum of 18 months
• ­         Exempted Micro Enterprises (EME) and Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE’s) that are 51% black owned and managed
• ­         Must be able to handle increased market demands and have a competitive advantage in the market they trade in
• ­         Compliant and aligned with core industries or sector specifics
• ­         Entrant must be a registered supplier with the Central Supplier database and a City Vendor

Last year, we officially opened our first ‘one-stop shop’ called The Business Hub where entrepreneurs can receive business and financial advice. Through our small business support service, we promote entrepreneurship and assist business owners in finding support organisations that can assist in growing their business.

We help to reduce barriers faced by small business owners by minimising the procedures, time and costs associated with starting a business.

This dedicated help desk will guide and assist SMME’s and entrepreneurs and can be contacted on business.support@capetown.gov.za, or ‪021 417 4043.

My key focus has been to position my portfolio as the ‘Growth Directorate’ of the City. This means that we focus our energy on investing in initiatives that create jobs that lead to economic growth.

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