Support Tidy Towns project urges business chamber
The 2023 plans for the the South Coast Chamber of Commerce and Industry's business calendar was also highlighted at a recent meeting.
The South Coast Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently held its monthly business networking event, and invited guest speakers, Stephen Herbst, the coordinator of Tidy Towns Shelly to Margate and Themba Kunene, the branch manager of Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) Port Shepstone.
Herbst explained how the Tidy Towns project started, saying that the idea was to clean up the area, and that it started off at St Michael’s Beach, so that locals could enjoy the beach.
From planning to getting the work done, the initial findings and statistics were shocking for the project team. Herbst said they found criminals, drugs and homeless people.
Since the initiation of the project, Tidy Towns has been doing fantastic work with repairs and maintenance, especially with support now from local businesses and Rotary.
Reshma Maharaj, the first vice-president of the chamber encourages locals and members to support the initiative, to uplift the coast again to attract tourists. She applauded the Tidy Towns team for their efforts and contributions to clean up the town.
Maharaj also outlined some of the 2023 plans for the chamber’s business calendar, invited local businesses to join up as members, and to engage in events to promote and network as its main agenda is to support local businesses.
Kunene focused on opportunities for local businesses with regards to growth and development, access to support services and encouraged local businesses to register on Seda’s supplier database,
He said when Seda looks for suppliers, it will look for local businesses first. He emphasised that businesses need to be compliant so that they do not miss out on opportunities
“Seda has opportunities for women-owned enterprises and we encourage them to to register on the SheTradesZA platform which has women-focused programmes that are fully and partially funded,” Kunene emphasised.
The next chamber event is in March and will focus on the property market. For more information, follow and like the South Coast Chamber Facebook page for updates.
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