The workshops are part of a programme of development initiatives from the Business Hub which supports SMMEs in the metro.
‘Starting a business and keeping its doors open is harder than ever given the current economic climate due to the national Covid-19 lockdown and now worsening load-shedding. While the City continues its work in reducing the impact of these challenges, my team and I are stepping up our efforts to give SMMEs the skills and information to do business better and easier,’ said Alderman James Vos, the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.
This month, the City kicks off its workshop series with Supplier Matters Day, which will take place every Wednesday at the Business Hub in Cape Town’s city centre and which will prioritise concerns of prospective and existing City-registered vendors.
The helpdesk is also offering a new industry-specific skills development platform for the building industry with construction training workshops for contractors. These sessions are scheduled to take place every month at the Hub.
For Capetonians who can’t make it to the workshops in the city centre, the Hub will also host online sessions from March until later in the year. Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs can also find a range of online courses at the Cape Town Entrepreneurship Academy. See: https://www.thestartuptribe.org/pages/capetown
All workshops from both the Academy and the Hub are cost-free.
The mobile helpdesk will also go back on the road with its first activations in Gugulethu in March, and Fish Hoek in April.
‘Small and medium enterprises absorb between 50-60% of the country’s workforce and contribute 39% to the national GDP. They are vital to growth, opportunity and innovation. Our mission as the City government, especially with the programmes and platforms offered by my department, is to grow the depth and diversity of our economic geography – for those that participate and for those that consume – with a strong focus on building sustainable businesses and entrepreneurs,’ said Alderman Vos.
