SMME NEWS - NOVEMBER 2018 ISSUE

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the heartbeat of small enterprises smme news 4 By : Tanya Bouverie The Durban International Convention Center hosted the Shape Durban discussions around ideas on how to make the city a liveable, safe and properly functioning city within a five year growth and development plan. With representatives present from across every sector, it meant that steps in the right direction were to be made in ensuring that goals are achieved. The conference began with a panel discussion on what was needed to improve conditions in the city for people who live and work in it, to those who migrate here from across South Africa to those from the opposite sides of the borders. The panel was chaired by Palesa Philli (CEO Durban Chamber), Terry Rosenburg (Chairman of Multiply Group), Dondo Nogajane (Director General for National Treasury), Phillip Sithole (Deputy City Manager) and Mandisa Ntombela (Global Shapers- Durban Hub). With a panel as diverse as this, it showed a clear commitment from all sectors of government and society. These speakers all shared what their roles are in this vast spectrum and what it means to them personally and in their mandates in their respective portfolios, of just what it means to “Shape Durban.” DG, Sithole touched on the importance of bringing business into the city. He made it clear that by making the city investment attractive, this would ensure employment growth within the city, hence changing the lives of the less fortunate. Philli reiterated the commitment from the Chamber in bringing networks and forging strong relationships between sectors, especially in regard to SMME growth and sustainablity. “There is a willingness to co-operate with all partners to grow the city. Ntombela reflected on the involvement of youth in these proceedings. Her message was one of resilience from the youth with a passion and drive to ensure their basic needs are met. She encouraged the youth, as well as partners not to give up in trying to get the voices of the youth heard. The key issues that were raised during this discussion were regarding quality education, tailored skills development for youth and the marginalised society, access to basic needs to business setup like water and electricity. Panel : Palesa Phili (CEO Durban chamber), Terry Rosenberg (chairman Multiply Group), Dondo Nogajane (Director General National Treasury), Philip Sithole ( Deputy City Manager ) and Mandisa Ntombela (Global Shapers, Durban Hub) Infrastructure development was popular amongst all sectors as many challenges came from lack of, or poor quality spaces for businesses to operate from in the CBD. Access to internet and high data costs were a contentious talking point as without this basic service, it was difficult for the unemployed youth to gain access to opportunities posted on social media platforms. It creates challenges for sending a curriculum vitae, just to be considered for employment. SMME’s also expressed challenges in regard to just marketing their businesses or getting information around the access to their sectors. Yes, with all acknowledgement that these issues were not unique or a new phenomenon, stakeholders’ said with renewed commitment from all sectors, these could be addressed and resolved over time. With partnerships between all government departments working together bringing about a well-functioning organisation, linked to small and big business, corporates and the private sectors, positive growth across the city will be realised. A topic not easy to bring up, is the issue around the economically marginalised part of society, namely the homeless. This group was represented and expressed the challenges they faced in regard to discrimination, criminalisation by the police and no spaces for them to return to in the form of shelters in the city. A young man poured his heart out in request for people to be more understanding when it comes to discrimination of their drug abuse. Tebogo Mogopeng pleas for a rehabilitation centre. “Being labelled for what you use just because people don’t understand what you’re going through as person, does not build you up, but instead makes it easier for you continue and further degenerate,” said Mogopeng. It was at this breakaway session that people leaned that dislocation of the homeless does not solve the problem as many just find their way back. The conclusion of the conference saw a commitment from city management to have continuous meetings in regard to strives made towards solutions on making Durban better for all. Feedback will be made via the Edge and City Gazettes. For success of this conference, we all need to actively Shape Dueban. Pictured below : Sand sculpture at the event. City Unveils Plans To Attract More Tourists in 2018 By : Oyewo-Umoh Adetola Elizabeth In a bid to attract more tourists, grow tourism impact on the province’s GDP and inject R2.4 billion into the Provincial economy, the MEC Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Affairs (EDTEA), Sihle Zikalala and eThekwini Mayor, Zandile Gumede unveiled upcoming festive activities on the 15th November 2018 at the Elangeni hotel. The move is in preparation for the summer season that starts from 1st December 2018 till February 2019.This was also to assess the readiness of the beachfront and installation of sharks net. Speaking at the festive season launch, Mr. Zikalala pointed out that the Isimangaliso Wetland Park and Ukhamlamba- Drakensberg World Heritage site are some of the endowment of the kingdom of Zulu. Zikalala stated that last year, ‘the Province recorded 138 000 international tourist and 60,000 domestic visitors. There is the need for KwaZulu-Natal to surpass this figure in 2018’. He adds further ‘that by 2030, we want to attract at least 3.4 million international visitors’. To do this, the EDTEA is working on attracting about 850,000 domestic visitors and 150, 000 international visitors. This is important because according to MEC Zikalala, ‘over the next two years, we want to grow tourism impact on the Province’s GDP in the region of R65 billion and R98 billion which will enable us to reach our target of creating 183, 000 direct jobs in this period’. Mayor Gumede explained that international visitors flock to Durban because of its warm climate and waters. It is projected that 1.1 million visitors will set foot on Durban shores. The tourists that visit Durban generated R19.7 billion which contributed to more than 41,000 jobs. She identified activities that will be hosted such as the Crown Gospel Awards, Durban Jazz Festival, Bafana-Bafana Mandela match, Durban Braai day, Soweto Derby, and Maskandi Festival. Compact of Mayors in KwaZulu-Natal Meet Discuss Climate Change and Economic Growth By : Oyewo-Umoh Adetola Elizabeth The Mayors and Deputy Mayors from Kwazulu-Natal convened at the Moses Mabhida stadium on 13th November 2018 for the KZN Climate Change Compact of Mayors Conference. The event held under the auspice of South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) with partnership with KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). The conference aimed at Mayors to sign and recommit to the Durban Adaptation Charter. The Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) was the key output of the Durban Local Government Convention: adapting to a changing climate – towards COP17/ CMP7 and beyond (2-4 December 2011). The DAC was signed by 114 signatories representing 950 local government organizations in South Africa on December 2011. This is also in recognition that the Compact of Mayors is an ambitious agreement by Mayors and other city officials to publically commit to deep Green House gas (GHG) emissions reductions, making existing mitigation and adaptation targets. The Compact of Mayors launched on September 23, 2014, at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in New York City by the C40 - Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, and UCLG endorsed by UN-Habitat. Speaking at the conference, the Mayor of EThekwini and the Deputy Vice-President of SALGA, Councillor Zandile Gumede spoke on the Durban Adaption Charter and strengthening local resilience. She challenged all Mayors to be champions in educating communities, the need for industrialization policies and capacities so that the spin-off will create green jobs. MEC for KZN EDTEA, Mr Sihle Zikalala stressed that sustainable development is government's agenda and climate change presents investment opportunity. ‘There is the need to balance industrialization and preservation of the environment. Companies must be able to generate renewable electricity without polluting the environment, there is no one size fits all’, said Zikalala. Speaking on behalf of MEC COGTA, Nomusa Dube-Ncube , the HOD of COGTA KZN, Mr Tubane, emphasised that ‘Local Government should be at the forefront of greening the environment and the economy’. The Deputy Chairperson of SALGA and King Cetshwayo District, Mayor Nonhle Mkhulisi thanked the leadership from provincial government for their continued support to Local Government and ensured them of SALGA's commitment to inspire service delivery even through climate change awareness and mitigation. The conference unpacked climate change as driver for economic change, green funding, case study of best practice by the KwaDukuza Municipality and presentation of awards to Municipalities that are implementing innovative mitigation and adaptation strategies. Climate change is affecting people and local government because its impacts are felt at local level. It is at the local level where infrastructure are destroyed, livelihood are lost, water security and food security are impacted. Pictured at the Event : From left The Deputy Chairperson of SALGA and King Cetshwayo District, Mayor Nonhle Mkhulisi, MEC for KZN EDTEA, Mr Sihle Zikalala, Mayor of EThekwini and the Deputy Vice-President of SALGA, Councillor Zandile Gumede and Mayor of Kwa-Dukuza, Cllr Ricardo Mthembu issue no. 24 NOVEMBER 2018
5 smme news the heartbeat of small enterprises Transport Education Training Authority (TETA): Greenprenuers and Green Transportation By : Oyewo-Umoh Adetola Elizabeth The Transport Education and Training Authority(TETA ) in partnership with the Centre For Learning on Evaluation AA(CLEAR) University of Witwatersrand hosted the 2nd TETA stakeholders engagement session at the Protea Edward Hotel , Durban, on the 2nd of November 2018. With the aim to provide consolidated findings on processes and content of 2019/20 update, green transportation research and hard-tofill vacancy in the face of leveraging on the fourth industrial revolution. This is key in generating new knowledge and information towards technological advancement and growth of the Transport Industry in South Africa. The discussion was facilitated by University of Venda team, from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of environmental Sciences; Professor Peter Bikam and Dean School of Environmental Sciences, John Odiyo and Dr James Chakwizira. The workshop identified that transport activity levels are strongly related to socio- economic drivers and accessible transport is an important enabling factor for economic growth. Green transport include electric trains, cars, trams and electric buses that are environmentally friendly vehicle that produces less harmful impacts to the environment than comparable conventional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, Green vehicles can be powered by alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies and include hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. A fundamental shift in investment patterns is needed, based on the principles of avoiding or reducing trips, shifting to more environmentally efficient modes such as public and non-motorised transport (for passenger transport) and to rail and water transport (for freight) is recommended. Investment in public transportation and vehicle efficiency improvements generates exceptional economic returns. Such investments, among other measures, should be enabled through shifting financing priorities towards public transport and non-motorised transport, coupled with strong economic incentives such as taxes, charges and subsidy reform. A fundamental shift in investment patterns is needed, based on the principles of avoiding or reducing trips, shifting to more environmentally efficient modes such as public and non-motorised transport (for passenger transport) and to rail and water transport (for freight) is recommended. Investment in public transportation and vehicle efficiency improvements generates exceptional economic returns. Such investments, among other measures, should be enabled through shifting financing priorities towards public transport and non-motorised transport, coupled with strong economic incentives such as taxes, charges and subsidy reform. Green transport supports the other pillars of sustainable development, namely economic affordable, fair and efficient transport that supports a sustainable competitive economy and the creation of decent jobs. It was highlighted that green transport will help boost economic growth, creates jobs and create green entrepreneurs. Key recommendation was that other transport choices with very low environmental impact such as cycling and other human-powered vehicles, and animal powered transport should be encouraged. Picture from the left : University of Venda team, from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of environmental Sciences, Dr James Chakwizira, Dean School of Environmental Sciences, John Odiyo; Professor Peter Bikam TETA Acting Manager, Research and knowledge(in white shirt) Nathi Gumbi Winners of the National Business Awards New Venture Competition by the Harvard Business School Club By : Tanya Bouverie The best in the industry were named at the 16th annual National Business Awards gala ceremony in Johannesburg on Thursday, 15 November 2018 In collaboration with Top Performing Publication, South African National Business Awards, recognises key role players in the business sector. Tapco Media, researches and trails the movements of industry contributors to the economy. The aim if which is to encourage established key industry role players, to share their knowledge of how and their innovative ideas on exactly how they became successful with other aspiring entrepreneurs. It also acknowledges significant social and environmental contributions made by organisations through the excellence of service, commitment to their customers, ethical behaviour and environmental sustainability. The impactful keynote address was delivered by Asha Patel, Head of Marketing at Google South Africa, Bonang Mohale, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, and Willem Baars, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs. The speeches encouraged discussions around business opportunities and forward thinking ideas in regard to public and private sectors to join forces in driving positive, inclusive economic growth for South Africa. Some of the winners were, Fast Growth Award went to Lemac Group South Africa, Corporate Citizenship Award was claimed by Adcock Ingram. The best Young Executive of the Year Award was taken by Zama Phakathi of Splendid Marketing and Communications and Top Performing Entrepreneur of the Year went to Avesh Padayachee of Fibon Energy. The complete list of winners can be viewed on the National Business Awards website. (https:// nationalbusinessawards.co.za/ awards/) The Harvard School of Business Club celebrates its’ annual 21st Africa Business Conference. This year, the event includes its’ New Venture for start-ups competition which has been running for six years, across the continent. The conference aims to bring informative dialogues in regard to new and innovative business models and strategies in Africa. It also seeks to contribute in social cohesion between nations by building strong networking relationships across spheres of government, corporates and private sectors. The competition is open to all African entrepreneurs with businesses, serious about shaping a better Africa for all who live in it. The Harvard Business School encourages entrepreneurs who exhibit ground-breaking, innovative solutions to local problems and therefore meet the following eligibility criteria, to apply. • Early Stage Startups (for profit or not-for-profit) • Africa-focused with a majority or all of its operations in Africa • Less than 50 employees • Less than 5 years of operations • Raised less $250,000 in funding to date Entrepreneurs from South Africa are invited to participate in this opportunity to give their business a great chance at success and continental exposure, the closing date is November, 30. For more information, competition details and application forms, visit the website. https://www.afterschoolafrica.com/32943/ harvard-business-school-new-venture-competition/ issue no. 24 NOVEMBER 2018
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SMME NEWS - NOVEMBER 2018 ISSUE

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