The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe, and the Mayor of the Mandeni Local Municipality Councilor Siphesihle Basil Zulu, will speak at an empowerment and enterprise development outreach programme that will be held at the   Ngcedomhlophe Stadium, in Sundumbili Township, Mandeni, north of Durban on Monday, 12 August 2013 from 09H00. The event will be hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), and the Mandeni Local Municipality

The event is part of the “Taking the dti to the People” campaign aimed at reaching out to remote and marginalised communities and creating awareness about the dti’s products and services, as well as small business support services offered by its agencies. These include the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), Company and Intellectual Property Commission (CPIC) and National Empowerment Fund (NEF). Participants will also be informed about the local enterprise development support programmes of the Mandeni Local Municipality.

The outreach campaign, which was initiated by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe, also seeks to strengthen government’s commitment to empowering rural and peri-urban communities to accelerate job creation and sustainable economic development in the country.

The seminar is targeted at residents of Mandeni and surrounding areas who own businesses and those who have plans or desire to establish their own businesses. Entrepreneurs and aspirant businesspeople attending the event will be advised on how to start, grow and sustain their businesses. Officials from the incentives and cooperatives units of the dti, as well as Local Economic Development unit of the Mandeni Local Municipality, will also share information on how to establish cooperatives and access financial and non-financial support from the department and municipality.

Deputy Minister Thabethe says that government has identified the small business sector as an important catalyst to creating employment and poverty eradication in the country.

“At these gatherings residents learn more about issues such as starting, registering, growing, sustaining and obtaining finance for small businesses. The campaign further demonstrate government’s commitment to working together with communities as well as provincial and local spheres of government, to ensure that significant progress is made in improving the lives of all South Africans,” said Deputy Minister Thabethe.   

Thabethe adds that it is no coincidence that the workshop takes place during the Women’s Month, as the South African government has initiated interventions aimed and ensuring that women entrepreneurs are empowered in order to assist them to participate meaningful in the mainstream economy. These include programmes of the dti such as the South African Women Entrepreneurs Network (SAWEN), Isivande Women’s Fund, and Technology for Women in Business (TWIB) and Bavumile Skills Development Fund.