Mobile Business Hub is where the rubber hits the road to help SMMEs and entrepreneurs

Last week, I had the opportunity to join the team at the Mobile Business Hub – managed by the City of Cape Town’s Enterprise and Investment Department in Bellville, where we assisted business owners with queries relating to supplier development, regulations, red tape, and much more. Read more below:

The mobile help desk, an extension of The Business Hub, first took to the road in March this year to assist businesses and entrepreneurs in their communities.

The Business Hub’s team provides clarity on key issues facing small enterprise owners.

Since launching in August 2019, The Business Hub office in the Strand Street Concourse has engaged with thousands of businesses.

In 2020, The Business Hub received 2 850 service requests and resolved 98% of these within two working days. Over the past six months, it has supported 380 businesses with product and supplier development workshops, by cutting red tape to make it easier to do business and to compete for big business. With the ability to take our service on the road, the City has been able to support business leaders where they are based rather than making them come to us.

This is proof of the success of The Business Hub and the recently launched mobile service and it’s been particularly gratifying to get direct feedback from both existing and hopeful business owners. One such example of an aspiring entrepreneur is Junaid Clark who visited the mobile help desk when it was in Delft and lauded the service as inspiring.

‘It was a pleasant experience and this gave me motivation. The biggest thing holding me back is finance, but now I know how to go about getting this,’ said Clark.

Another example is Gary Styles, the owner of Custom Office, a furniture manufacturer and wholesale supplier who told us that The Business Hub helped him during a particularly difficult time.

‘In a time when it felt like I was on my own in trying to figure out how to operate, retain my workforce as well as to survive, the fantastic and speedy help I received from the City’s Business Hub showed that I was not alone and that the City was hard at work to help businesses to survive and thrive.  I am immensely happy with and thankful for the support I received,’ said Styles.

We were proud to assist other business leaders in Bellville and we look forward to meeting more when the Mobile Business Hub heads to Khayelitsha on 7 June 2021, and Mitchell’s Plain on 14 June 2021.

Contact us to book an appointment with the mobile team as visitors are limited at each community activation in line with Covid-19 safety protocols. Reserve your spot by emailing business.support@capetown.gov.za or calling 021 417 4043.