South African Business 2023

OVERVIEW
Rural and Township Focus Award: the SPAR Rural Hub model
Emerging Technology Award: Exxaro Resources
Collaboration Award – sponsored by Fetola: Tiger Brands
The Covid-19 Recovery Award: Distell
Small Supplier Award – sponsored by IDC: Distell, in partnership
with supplier Stellar Wines.
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,
a De Beers Group mine, has more than 50 SMMEs enrolled in
incubation programmes and 34 locally-owned companies are doing
business with the mine.
Covid scheme
An amount of R15-billion was made available by national government
for businesses adversely affected by Covid-19 and the unrest and
floods that hit KwaZulu-Natal in 2021, but Treasury announced in
August 2022 that only R77-million of this “bounce back” scheme had
been disbursed out of a total of R140-million in loans approved. Any
small business is eligible for the loans, irrespective of whether or not
it was directly harmed by one of the bad events, but a combination
of other events such as loadshedding and higher interest rates had
discouraged uptake.
A R200-billion loan guarantee scheme (LGS) was made available
for firms with a turnover of less than R300-million per year. This
scheme received very few applications and so the criteria were relaxed
although money can still only be used for operations. Treasury will also
now take responsibility for the first 20.5% of default losses, in contrast
to the first iteration whereby banks had to take that loss. While the
“bounce back” scheme allows businesses to change the terms of the
loan (by extending it, for example), the LGS is a fixed-term loan.
National programmes
The National Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has
several programmes to assist SMMEs and co-operatives.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Business Day Supplier Development Awards: www.sdawards.co.za
National Department of Small Business Development: www.dsbd.gov.za
Small Business Institute: www.smallbusinessinstitute.co.za
Small Enterprise Development Agency: www.seda.co.za
The Small Enterprise Development
Agency (Seda), a subsidiary of the
DSBD, has 42 incubation centres
under its Seda Technology Programme
(STP). In Mpumalanga, Seda supports
several incubators: Furntech, furniture
manufacturing, White River; Mobile
Agro-Skills Development & Training,
agricultural training, Nelspruit;
Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative (MSI),
stainless-steel processing, Middelburg
(with Columbus Stainless); Timbali
floriculture, Nelspruit; Ehlanzeni TVET
College Rapid Incubator Renewable
Technologies, Nelspruit.
In the North West, the Provincial
Government is investing in digital
infrastructure. SMMEs will be able to
use the newly-established Mafikeng
Digital Innovation Hub as a co-working
environment and to get support in
using digital tools. The South African
National Roads Agency Limited
(SANRAL) actively supports small
businesses wherever it works in South
Africa. Subcontracts are routinely
awarded for maintenance such as the
patching of potholes, fencing and the
cutting of grass verges.
Part of the rationale behind a
national programme to revive industrial
parks is to benefit SMMEs. The National
Department of Trade, Industry and
Competition (the dtic) has invested R40-
million in the Nkowankowa Industrial
Park in Limpopo, an initiative which has
helped to create 174 direct jobs. In the
northern reaches of the province, more
than 300 jobs have been created with
the revitalisation of the Thohoyandou
Industrial Park, which has achieved a
91% occupancy rate.
The dtic is trying to stimulate
township and rural economies through
programmes such as the Enterprise
Investment Programme (EIP). ■
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SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2023