KNYSNA NEWS - The municipality's Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) incubator programme continues to make positive progress in the assistance and growth of local businesses.
According to a press release issued last week, Knysna Municipality's SMME Incubator programme has seen another 36 SMMEs gaining important skills and insights to help make a success of their businesses.
"Stimulating growth in this entrepreneurial sector is one of the ways in which [we] will recover and enrich our local economy," said Acting Municipal Manager Dawid Adonis.
The programme is currently run on own funding and a grant from Nedbank's enterprise development unit. The small enterprise development agency provides business development interventions to selected beneficiaries.
"It is fair to say that we would not be able to run this initiative without the kind financial support from Nedbank, nor the business know-how that Seda shares with the participants," Adonis said. "Nedbank is an integral part of the programme and we appreciate their generous and continued financial support."
Seda Western Cape manager Alex Qunta said that Seda promotes entrepreneurship and helps develop small enterprises by providing customised non-financial business support services to help businesses grow and be sustainable.
"Knysna Municipality is one of our long-standing partners in the ecosystem, and in this incubator programme, we have been providing value-adding coaching and mentorship to all the participants. We believe that this partnership will go a long way in providing much-needed support to our small enterprises during the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
Senior manager of enterprise development at Nedbank Nirmala Reddy said Nedbank is pleased to be a sponsor of this programme and to see results of the bank's continued efforts to help create jobs and grow the economy.
Adonis said in the light of the effect of the global pandemic, now, more than ever, is the time to support emerging engineers. "It is their business that will create more jobs, influence socio-economics and build a stronger economy. And the incubator programme is one example of how our local private sector is working with the municipality to create an inclusive, innovative, inspired Knysna."
The objectives of the programme are:
- the procurement of considered equipment that will increase production or service capacity and employment over time;
- skills development through professional training;
- expansion or adaptation of service or product;
- assistance with market access;
- individual business mentorship;
- supporting the acceleration of business and social impact enterprises in the greater Knysna municipal area; and
- supporting local business growth that translates into local job creation in the short to medium term.
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