South African Business 2020 edition

OVERVIEW
Development finance and SMME support
Supply chains can create and support small businesses.
SECTOR INSIGHT
Anglo American’s Zimele
celebrated 30 years in 2019.
Funding for more than 2 300 small, medium and microenterprises
(SMMEs) and support for 50 000 jobs – that’s what
Anglo American’s Zimele programme has achieved in 30 years
of supporting small businesses.
Most of the support came through the purchase of goods from small
businesses in the supply chain of Anglo mines or from companies supplying
services to the relevant mine. Zimele (which means “stand on one’s
own two feet”) changed focus somewhat in 2017, with more emphasis
being placed on building up skills and on improving the sustainability
of SMMEs.
Most big companies in South Africa have two main programmes to
support SMMES: enterprise development (ED) and local supplier development
(or procurement). Venetia Mine in northern Limpopo is a De Beers
Group mine. Anglo American is a majority shareholder in De Beers. As of
2019, more than 50 SMMEs had enrolled in incubation programmes, 27
businesses were supported by the mine’s ED programme and 34 locally
owned companies were doing business with the mine.
For Patience Nqaba of Ikefree Projects (pictured), the chance to offer
maintenance services to the Venetia Mine was an opportunity to take
her business to a new level. With 29 employees, Ikefree has subsequently
signed up with Nando’s (to deliver food) and with Tiger Brands, to maintain
the food company’s property.
One of biggest problems
faced by SMMEs is cash flow. Most
government departments have
rules about procurement which
are biased in favour of purchasing
from SMMEs or co-operatives.
However, for many South African
entrepreneurs, the inability or unwillingness
of government to pay
within 30 days presents a major
risk to sustainability.
Public procurement from
township enterprises from provincial
and municipal governments
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