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Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Big Boost for Eastern Cape Community Small Businesses

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On the 28th of March in Bedford, Eastern Cape and 4 th April in Cookhouse, Eastern Cape, The Hope Factory in partnership with the Amakhala Emoyeni Community Trusts ( Amakhala Emoyeni Bedford Community Trust, Amakhala Emoyeni Cookhouse Community Trust and Amakhala Emoyeni Community Fund Trust) celebrated the handover of operational investment manufacturing raw materials to 16 community small businesses within the Chemical industry.

These raw materials included a variety of chemical manufacturing ingredients allowing the beneficiaries to manufacture and package their very own household goods to sell such as dishwashing liquid, thick bleach, washing powder, ‘handy andy’ and pine gel. Not only were the beneficiaries handed with the goods, but they were also trained and equipped on exactly how to mix and weigh out the ingredients. This 4-day training was done by industry partner and supplier, Chemin.

Cennergi Services and all our partners on this programme have come alongside you to make sure that you can change your identity, when you walk out of the building today, walk and talk like you are a businesswoman or businessman. We are going to continue to walk with you, you are not alone”, says Takalani Maswime, Head of Enterprise Development at Cennergi Services and The Chairperson of the Trusts.

This operational investment handover forms part of the Small Business Support Programme based in Bedford and Cookhouse which was launched in February 2023. This programme was a collaborative effort between The Hope Factory NPC, Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), Amakhala Emoyeni Community Trusts.

Melvin Winnar, Board Trustee of the Amakhala Emoyeni Community Trust comments, “My word of encouragement to the beneficiaries is to grab this opportunity and go, don’t stop! Be committed to this journey and let this be part of the legacy for your community and your families and children.”

This programme aims to provide entrepreneurial training and other support interventions to 16 start-up and micro business owners within the Chemical Industry from four surrounding regions, Adelaide, Bedford, Cookhouse and Somerset East. The programme’s intent is to improve the 16 entrepreneur’s capacity to grow their businesses and generate income and create employment that enables them to participate in the broader economy.

Simphiwe Mbenya, Administrator of Enterprise Development at Cennergi Services, also shares his sentiments, “The windfarms have committed to invest in community development initiatives in these 4 regions. Just as we have chosen to invest in you as small businesses so in turn, we expect commitment to this programme and to your businesses. Commitment and discipline are the recipe to success, growth and reward.”

“This has been a life-changing opportunity and I am blessed and excited to be part of it all. When I joined the programme I had little knowledge about how to run a business but now I am feeling positive and so excited to change that and grow my business”, says programme beneficiary Lindelwa Mabila, owner of Hlubi M Pty Ltd. Lindelwa’s business is based in Somerset East and currently provides catering and grass cutting services and will soon be diversifying her services and adding manufacturing household goods to the list.

In closing we hear from Jill Johnson, Senior Executive at The Hope Factory. “Entrepreneurship is hard, it requires a level of true commitment and determination from all of you as small business owners. As The Hope Factory we admire your courage to embark on this journey and look forward to your development this year. A hearty thanks to all our stakeholders for considering entrepreneurship as a catalyst for growth for these communities and supporting small business. Thank you for your active roles in this programme and both these hand-over events. We are thrilled for this partnership journey with our strategic partners as well as with these 16 entrepreneurs.”

By Kelly Pretorius, Marketing at The Hope Factory

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.