KwaZulu-Natal Business 2019-20 edition

Development finance and
SMME support
OVERVIEW
Support is available for entrepreneurs.
A
small business can become a substantial business quite
quickly with the right support. Programmes such as the Black
Umbrellas offer different levels of support, from early advice
about business plans through office support to mentoring.
Civtech Engineers, a Richards Bay consultancy, has grown its
revenue and staffing levels as a result of being on the full incubation
programme of Black Umbrellas.
Agriculture is the focus of a wide-ranging initiative in the Ulundi
district. A grouping called ULUMA has been formed which aims to help
farmers, SMMEs and co-operatives to benefit in a holistic way from the
produce they farm. The Zululand District Farmers Association, several
other NGOs and Standard Bank are working together with the likes of
Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) and the Innovation and
Technology Business Incubator (Invotech) to expose farmers to new
issues and techniques.
Operation Vula is a provincial government initiative to ensure
that co-operatives and small businesses get a leg-up into the formal
economy through state-led infrastructure programmes that assist
them, and through procurement policies that favour them.
The Coastal KZN TVET College has been training members of cooperatives
and people working in small, medium and micro-enterprises
(SMMEs) in the skills that will help them do well in business.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) is active in
supporting entrepreneurs. Seda gives non-financial support through
training, assistance with filling in forms, marketing and creating
business plans.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Seda runs 12 Incubators which either help new
businesses get started or with the rehabilitation of existing enterprises.
ONLINE RESOURCES
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and
Tourism: www.kznedtea.gov.za
National Department of Small Business Development:
www.dsbd.gov.za
Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.co.za
Small Enterprise Finance Agency: www.sefa.org.za
SECTOR INSIGHT
The Coastal KZN TVET College
offers business skills training.
Three models are used: Technology
Demonstration Centres (demonstration
and training); Technology
Incubators (where the focus is rehabilitation);
and Hybrid Centres,
which combine elements of the
other two models. The KwaZulu-
Natal incubators include ICT and
construction (three centres each),
furniture and hi-tech (two each),
chemicals and essential oils.
The IDC provides finance across
a range of sectors from agriculture
to tourism. It has holdings in several
companies with a presence in
KwaZulu-Natal: 42.6% in Hans
Merensky (Pty) Ltd, a plantation
and timber mill operator; 100%
in Prilla 2000, a cotton-milling
operation; and 85% in Foskor,
which has a phosphoric acid plant
in Richards Bay.
All of the major banks have
SMME offerings. Nedbank has an
enterprise-development product
that supports businesses with a
turnover up to R35-million with at
least 25% black ownership.
Toyota South Africa Motors is
funding the newly created Toyota
Empowerment Trust (TET) to the
tune of R42-million.
57 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2019/20