SMME NEWS - NOVEMBER 2018 ISSUE

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the heartbeat of small enterprises smme news 8 ITHALA MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME HELPS WOMEN MAKE HEADWAY IN BUSINESS By : Zanele P. Ndimande Winners of the 2017 Ithala’s Imbokodo Iyazenzela Women in Business competition are reaping the benefits of their prize – a business management mentorship programme specifically By : Oyewo-Umoh Adetola designed for the needs of their business. Learning to apply for funding has been important for some; others have learnt to use social media to successfully market their businesses while others have expanded their offerings to remain sustainable. “I had no idea that I could advertise my business on social media. My mentor showed me how to upload my business on Facebook and I am now receiving client leads from it,” said Philisiwe Sibiya owner of Bless Us Catering and Accommodation in Manguzi. Her two cottages are rented and there is demand for more accommodation from contractors working in the area. She also wants to start a restaurant. For Hlaleleni Buthelezi her Ixhiba Co-operative, which grows hydroponic tomatoes and other vegetables in Mbali, Pietermaritzburg, they are progressing with the help of their mentor. “She has assisted with our business plan for the Agricultural Development Agency and we are receiving assistance with record keeping and better understanding our profit and loss situation,” said Buthelezi. On advice of the mentor the co-operative is installing signage to ensure visibility of their business and the mentor has secured a laptop which is set up to be user friendly by all the cooperative members and they have had help with their branding. Buthelezi said they were confident that they would be able to make a success of the growing project and would like to be able to buy a cold room and a van to supply the local villagers or rural areas. Imbokodo Iyazenzela or “Women doing it for themselves” is a flagship programme of Ithala Development Finance Corporation, which aims to create an enabling environment for female entrepreneurs who require access to finance and the resources to grow. “The programme is a pillar of support to women entrepreneurs. The purpose of the mentorship is not to go out and get contracts or funding for the mentees, but rather to capacitate them on business operation processes so that they can do these things for themselves,” said Sitandiwe Dimba, Ithala Group Reputation Manager. “We had 568 entries which is a 25,8% on last year’s 421 entries and more than double the 201 entries received in 2016. The popularity of the competition is an indication of many women wanting to improve and grow their businesses and realising that they need business knowledge. “The business women are nominated by their peers in their social circle and have been through a rigorous judging process. We have identified the top 20 winners who will be celebrated at a gala dinner in Durban on 24 November. “Over the past three years we have noted the involvement of women in new sectors such as agroproccessing and chemical manufacturing producing new brands of cleaning materials. Women are also participating in previously male dominate sectors such as transportation and logistics and it is encouraging to also see participation and passion in the growing hospitality industry including B&B’s. “Within our mandate Ithala continues to recognise and reward business success in the SMME sector, emphasizing its commitment to the continued development of entrepreneurship in KwaZulu- Natal,” said Dimba. She said the mentorship programme was a way of giving back to the community especially to those previously disadvantaged. The programme was designed to offer guidance and advisory services on business plans; cash flow management; tax compliance documents; starting and or register a business and compliance among other things. She said the mentorship programme was a way of giving back to the community especially to those previously disadvantaged. The programme was designed to offer guidance and advisory services on business plans; cash flow management; tax compliance documents; starting and or register a business and compliance among other things. Jabulile Khambule owner of development project Come Again Phindubuye in Umlazi said her mentor had assisted her in applying for funding by breaking the application into step-by-step assignments which she would complete. Come Again looks after 46 children aged 18 months to five years daily. Many of the toddlers are the children of school going learners and the project provides social behaviour change programmes for these young parents. It has been assigned a permanent social worker to look after the children as well as assigned a permanent Care Youth Community worker; it is in partnership with three schools in the area; has been appointed by the Department of Social Development to distribute dried fruit to the needy; it works with a local radio station on various social programmes. “My mentor then corrected any errors, and so we went until the application was complete and ready to be submitted. When I have problems I contact her and she is willing to help me all the time,” said Khambule. The Maqhanene Co - operative in Kwa-Dlangezwa, Empangeni is extremely excited about being part of the year-long mentorship programme. Their business has grown substantially by improving the way they advertise their business and keeping track of new trends among other mentorship assistance. By the end of the programme the co-operative had catered for five weddings, decorated a number of tents, provided food for a tribal unveiling, catered for birthday events and hundreds of students and various functions at the University of Zululand. Ends Issued by : Ithala Development Finance Corporation 29 Canal Quay Road, Point Waterfront, Durban Photo 1 : Hlaleleni Buthelezi of Ixhiba Cooperative inspects hydroponically grown tomatoes in one of the four greenhouses they have in Mbali, Pietermaritzburg. The produce is sold at the Mkondeni market. Photo 2 : Growing hundreds of healthy tomato plants hydroponically is Hlaleleni Buthelezi’s passion. She is a member of Ixhiba Cooperative in Mbali, Pietermaritzburg. Photo 3 : Hlaleleni Buthelezi shows off hydroponically grown spinach, broccoli and cabbage which complement the tomatoes grown by Ixhiba Cooperative in Mbali, Pietermaritzburg. DYNAMIC WOMEN INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH Stephanie Cloete introducing the Port Shepstone branch members of DWI. The co-founders of Alpha Lipid Lifeline displaying some of their product range at the launch. Founders of DWI from left : Mary Papayya, Indrani Govender, Stephanie Cloete, Judy Ndima, Tinky Ogle and Buyi Buthelezi (not pictured above) DWI chairperson Indrani Govender awarding councillor Lindiwe Ncayiyana with an appreciation gift. issue no. 24 NOVEMBER 2018
9 smme news the heartbeat of small enterprises LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES The 2019 Africa Youth Energy Innovator Submissions are now officially open The Africa Energy Indaba has announces the third African Youth Energy Innovator showcase of 2019. The contest is open to 18 to 35 year old individuals from across Africa and the submitted innovations should however address the key areas of energy, security, environmental sustainability , energy equity and job creation. Criteria Energy Security – can your innovation help with effective management of energy supply , reliability or energy Environmental Sustainability – does your innovation provide clean or low carbon supply energy? Energy Equity – can your innovation improve accessibility and affordability of energy in Africa? Job Creation- could your innovation create jobs? Target customers – who is the innovation going to benefit? Customer value- what are the key benefits of your innovation to customers? Your unique value proposition – how will you differentiate and position yourself? Why should you enter the Energy Innovation? The winner will receive the Best Innovator Award and will be recognised at the Africa Energy Indaba in 2019 in Johannesburg. The top 5 finalists will each receive an opportunity to showcase their innovation in a 2 –day Exhibition during the Energy Indaba When can you Enter ? The deadline for the submissions is 04 January 2019 ( midnight) . no late entries will be accepted after the closing date. Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition The World Tourism Organisation in collaboration with the Basque Culinary Centre presents the first Global Gastronomy Tourism Startup competition. The main mission for the challenge is to identify challenges and projects that can transform the Gastronomy Tourism Sector in the future. The 20 selected Start-ups will be shortlisted by a panel of international stakeholders and experts from the gastronomy tourism sector both public and private sector, academia and civil society. Criteria The projects must be in line with the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations and the introduction and adaption of the digital and technological elements focused on one or several of the following areas: Destination management or private management of solutions, services and products developed by the gastronomy tourism products. Supply-side configuration that looks for balance between sustainable development. The integration of sustainability in the project’s business plan specifically the conservation of local ingredients. Innovation and disruptiveness Potential impact and scalability Suitable and committed team Partnership Readiness Sustainability in the value proposition Technological or digital component Who can apply? Natural or legal people Start-ups with a sustainable vision Start-ups with potential There will be a selection of 5 finalists and presentation will be done on the online platform. The launch of the competition is on 5 March 2019 and the deadline for applications is on 01 April 2019. The Commonwealth Secretary General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Awards The awards celebrate outstanding innovators and innovations which are helping commonwealth countries along with their people to achieve Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG’s) and also increase their values in the Commonwealth Charter. The Commonwealth Charter commits commonwealth countries to the development of democratic societies and the promotion of prosperity and peace. Aims of the Awards: To recognise innovations that are boasting sustainable development in commonwealth countries while working in hand with the Common Wealth Charter and the SDGs. To inspire the next generation of commonwealth innovators. To put in the spotlight the innovative potential across commonwealth. The award –winning innovations must conform to the core values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter. Three award winners will be selected under five categories which are: People Prosperity Peace Planet Partnership The winners will be decided based upon the potential of their innovations to advance one or preferably more 17 SDG’s in commonwealth countries. The awards will be decided on the factors of: Level of impact to demonstrate the potential of innovation. Real fresh ways to approach problem-solving. The quality of the achievement. The potential impact of innovation on achievement of SDGs in commonwealth countries. Google AI Impact Challenge 2019 for non-profits and social enterprises Application Deadline: January 22, 2019 Working together to apply AI for social good Google.org is issuing an open call to organizations around the world to submit their ideas for how they could use AI to help address societal challenges. Selected organizations will receive support from Google’s AI experts, Google.org grant funding from a $25M pool, credit and consulting from Google Cloud, and more. At Google, we believe that artificial intelligence can provide new ways of approaching problems and meaningfully improve people’s lives. That’s why we’re excited to support organizations that are using the power of AI to address social and environmental challenges. Selected applicants will receive coaching from Google’s AI experts, Google.org grant funding from a $25 million pool, and credits and consulting from Google Cloud. Grantees will also join a specialized Launchpad Accelerator program, and we’ll tailor additional support to each project’s needs in collaboration with data science non-prof it data kind. The entry criteria - Entrants must be: commonwealth citizens- female and young commonwealth innovators. government ministries, department or public sector agencies in commonwealth countries. private sector enterprises based in any commonwealth country. social or voluntary sector enterprise based in any common wealth country. Nominees must have engaged in developing their innovations for more than 12 months. Award winners must agree to take part in commonwealth supported activities. Each nominee is liberated to enter submissions of up two of the five categories. The nomination process will only be done on the online platform. The deadline for the nominations is 31 December 2018. We’re looking for projects across a range of social impact domains and levels of technical expertise, from organizations that are experienced in AI to those with an idea for how they could be putting their data to better use. For more information on what we’re looking for in this Challenge and what we mean when we say AI, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions. To help you understand how AI may be able to help your organization have greater impact, we’ve put together a set of educational resources. If you are new to AI, we recommend starting with the self-study Introduction to Machine Learning Problem Framing course. Application criteria Impact. How will the proposed project address a societal challenge, and to what extent? Is the application grounded in research and data about the problem and the solution? Is there a clear plan to deploy the AI model for real-world impact, and what are the expected outcomes? Feasibility. Does the team have a well-¬developed, realistic plan to execute on the proposal? Does the team have a plan to access a meaningful dataset and technical expertise to apply AI to the problem? Have they identified the right partners and domain experts needed for implementation? Use of AI. Does the proposal apply AI technology to tackle the issue it seeks to address? Scalebility. If successful, how can this project scale beyond the initial proposal? Can it scale directly, serve as a model for other efforts, or advance the field? Responsibilities: Does the proposed use of artificial intelligence align with Google’s AI Principles? See Google’s Responsible AI Practices for practical guidance. Explore FAQs How to apply If you have an idea and your organization is eligible (see FAQs), you’re ready to apply. Download our application. Organizations will have until 11:59:59pm PST January 22, 2019 to submit their applications. After the deadline, Google and our panel of experts will review proposals and announce grant recipients in spring 2019. Apply now Download application guide (PDF) issue no. 24 NOVEMBER 2018
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