​Earlier this year, I had the privilege of delivering the opening address at the Smart Procurement World Conference, a premier entrepreneurship event on the annual South African Entrepreneur calendar. The event was created to support and promote SMMEs and facilitate collaboration between entrepreneurs and the private sector.

In support of entrepreneurship, a part of this event was to award the Top 10 businesses, who were part of the City’s Supplier Development Programme, with a mentorship opportunity that will be facilitated by The Commerce Edge, trading under Smart Procurement for a period of two months.

We are a proud partner of this event as it underpins our commitment to enhancing economic inclusion and empowering businesses to reach their full potential, to play a greater role in our economy and to create much needed jobs for our communities.

As part of the mentorship programme, entrepreneurs were guided on their specific business needs. Last week, we had the opportunity to check in with them to reflect on the process and listened to the business owners’ feedback on what worked and what we should improve on for the mentorship sessions.

The mentorship programme covered important areas that will be of benefit to the entrepreneurs such as Customer Relations, the Total Cost of Ownership and Marketing.

The participating businesses said the mentorship programme equipped them with knowledge on how to build a relationship with customers, understand contractual obligations and engage more effectively with clients. The businesses also soon started using the new knowledge and implemented systems in their businesses such as risk management systems and enhancing communication and reporting to clients.

One business owner who has been running a business for 30 years said the programme was very informative and extensive, and they took away a great deal of knowledge on how to improve their business.

All the participating businesses said they found the programme to be of benefit and they could implement changes immediately in their business. They also added that they would  recommend the programme as excellent value add to other entrepreneurs/businesses.

Following participation in the Smart Procurement World Conference, a number of smart supplier programme vendors over the past four years have gone on to win contracts with a number of corporates beyond the City thus accessing new markets.

The City has prioritised entrepreneurship and the support of Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) to help grow Cape Town's economy.

The City’s Enterprise and Investment department has created a ‘one-stop shop’ where entrepreneurs can receive business and finance advice. Through our small business support service, we promote entrepreneurship and assist business owners to find support organisations that can assist in growing their business. We help to reduce barriers faced by small business owners by reducing the procedures, time and costs associated with starting a business.

The City will also open a Business Hub in the Strand Street Concourse by mid-July. This dedicated help desk will guide and assist SMMe’s and entrepreneurs and can be contacted on business.support@capetown.gov.za or 021 417 4043.

Further information on the Top 10 qualifying entrepreneurs is available should you wish to learn about their businesses and how they got started and joined the world of entrepreneurship.