11 Jul 2023

Entrepreneurs in the agro-processing, manufacturing and textile sectors in the SPEDU region would undergo a 10 months supplier development programme.

The programme organised by Tokafala, an enterprise development programme helping entrepreneurs to build successful and sustainable businesses, would be made up of four months of advisory workshops and six months of mentorship and monitoring.

“We want to build owners of the businesses so that they have the right skills to run their business profitably,” said Tokafala Program Director Ms Montle Phuthego during the Tokafala workshop in Selebi Phikwe Thursday.

She said Tokafala did not provide any funding but focused mainly on capacity building which would help businesses get some funding.

Ms Phuthego explained that financiers evaluated whether business owners really understood their businesses, and whether they have the capability to run their companies before they could give any financial assistance.

She said Tokafala therefore came on board to build business owners so that they improve their business management skills all the way from sales management to financial management, strategic leadership and improving operational efficiencies in the business.

The Care Taker Chief Executive Officer for SPEDU, Mr Gideon Mmolawa, said government was faced with the challenge to reduce import bill hence it was important to promote and up skill local SMMEs to run their companies in a profitable manner.

He said research had shown that local SMMEs were battling with a lot of challenges citing poor financial and management skills.

Mr Mmolawa said the Tokafala supplier development programme would help improve local enterprises to reach the international standard.

He encouraged SMMEs to take advantage of the programme to help them improve how they conducted their businesses, adding that the program would help them develop financial management and marketing skills to build successful and sustainable businesses.

He said Tokafala also provided personal business mentoring tailored to specific needs of the enterprises, adding that since its inception Tokafala had supported 40 per cent female owned businesses as a result supporting 7594 jobs. For his part District Officer Development for Selebi Phikwe, Mr Abednico Mmereki, said SPEDU had done its best to diversify the economy of Selebi Phikwe away from mining, by bringing in investors to grow the manufacturing, agro-processing and textile sub-sectors.

He said now it was time for all the stakeholders to come together to improve ease of doing business in the country, adding that turnaround time was not impressive because licensing of businesses was not done by one organization.

He said this had resulted in the delay to establish businesses, calling for one stop shop to be established in Selebi Phikwe.

Mr Mmereki also pointed out that Tuli block was also a tourism attraction, but needed to be marketed vigorously as the area had the potential to create employment and diversify the country’s tourism sector. Ends