122 east businesses receive boosts
“It is by investing in small businesses and entrepreneurship that we will be able to defeat the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.”
Informal traders were given a massive boost to their businesses recently at the Mamelodi West Community Hall.
About 122 traders received equipment ranging from fridges, catering equipment to tables and laptop computers.
The Department of Small Business Development and Seda handed over tools and equipment to informal businesses through the Informal Micro-Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP).#IMEDP #SmallBusiness pic.twitter.com/zaiKULDY75
— Seda (@Seda_dsbd) February 15, 2019
Small business development minister Lindiwe Zulu said the equipment would enable their businesses to grow.
“We hope you (traders) are as excited as we are about the prospects of growth and efficient business output that this equipment will bring for your businesses,” said Zulu.
She said her department was on a campaign to do whatever it took to ensure that townships were building an inclusive economy.
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Zulu said she was aware that informal traders found it difficult to flourish in underdeveloped areas such as townships and rural communities due to lack of adequate investments in infrastructure, training and appropriate policies to protect informal businesses.
“Research has shown that more than 70% of spending in the townships leaks to the Central Business Districts and it is our intention to reverse this.”
“This money must stay in our areas (townships) and stimulate more economic activity,” Zulu said.
Brenda Khotsa from Mamelodi East, who owns a construction business, said she received a ladder, hammers and grinder, which were some of the tools that would assist her in her business.
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Khotsa said her business was recently registered, but failed to run efficiently as she had no proper tools.
“I also didn’t want to borrow tools from other businesses, because I wanted to be independent,” she said.
The tools given to her would make her job easier and she would be able to earn an income.
Zulu said these incentives given to Mamelodi traders were schemes meant to stimulate and facilitate the development of sustainable, competitive enterprises.
She said the government had also identified small businesses and co-operatives as critical to creating an economy that benefits all.
“It is by investing in small businesses and entrepreneurship that we will be able to defeat the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality,” she said.
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