KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna municipality received R300 000 from Nedbank for their small, medium and micro-enterprises incubator programme during a handover ceremony at the Knysna Royal Hotel last week.
The ceremony that was held on Friday 20 April saw over 20 small business owners walking away with tools that equip them to execute their unique trades, ranging from photography and fashion design to construction work catering among others.
Welcoming the attendees was a proud and emotional Ilse van Schalkwyk who acknowledged the "amazing" change she witnessed in the development of these businesses and thanked Nedbank and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) for their partnership in assisting to groom these businesses.
Nedbank's Nirmala Reddy thanked the small business owners and congratulated them. She said empowering businesses is engraved in their DNA.
“We’re excited to reconnect with Knysna Municipality and fully agree with president Cyril Ramaphosa when he said, "entrepreneurs are job creators" – this is a very important statement and holds strong in that which we’re passionate about.
Knysna Municipality's Ilse van Schalkwyk making opening remarks at the handover ceremony on Friday 21 April. Photos: Nwabisa Pondoyi
Mandy Poffader, who benefited from the programme a few years ago, gave her testimony and said she saw the gap in the decor industry, took the opportunity and has never looked back. “It’s not easy, the industry is very competitive, but if you love what you do, you will make it work.”
Seda business adviser Mbulelo Sokanyile also shared a few words and said he hopes the business owners will see this opportunity as a stepping stone.
Some of the Knysna entrepreneurs who attended the handover ceremony and municipality staff.
Councillor Levael Davids, who gave the keynote address, said the programme is dedicated to empowering and grooming small businesses and that the mayor appreciates and acknowledges public-private partnerships.
“The beauty of the programmes is that it features unique, cutting-edge businesses… The money will be used to purchase equipment for these businesses.”
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
