City’s support for SMMEs continues as the Western Cape Smart Procurement Expo goes virtual

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, ALDERMAN JAMES VOS.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 20 May, I have the pleasure of addressing the Western Cape Smart Procurement virtual conference. Since 2014, the City of Cape Town has been a proud partner of the Western Cape Smart Procurement initiative.

This exciting event, which promotes access to markets and training for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), has adapted due to COVID-19 and will now take place as virtual conference.

This is a great example of adaptation and innovation to support businesses in the new normal and I am pleased that hundreds of participants will be given the opportunity to grow their businesses through a virtual platform.

Now, more than ever, the City is committed to supporting and providing SMMEs with platforms to ensure their sustainability and to give these vital business an opportunity to showcase their services and products. We do this to help these businesses grow and improve chances of creating jobs.

The initiative has potential to expose and link SMMEs with corporate supply chains, not only in Cape Town but nationally as well which, in turn, may attract investment that generates economic growth and job creation for Cape Town.

Since the nation went into the lockdown and our economy essentially ground to a halt, the City of Cape Town has been hard at work responding to this crisis.

Our focus is on supporting SMMES, ensuring business retention and even expansion, by taking advantage of the opportunities every crisis presents.

By working together and by supporting SMMEs through initiatives like the Smart Procurement programme, we can find ways through this crisis. It is always a pleasure to engage with the participants and I look forward the feedback on what innovations have been embraced while we adjust to a new way of working.