A majority of South Africa’s young entrepreneurs and emerging businesses are facing critical challenges with putting their businesses into operation due to a lack of funding opportunities within the small business sector.
On Friday, African News Agency (ANA) spoke to young entrepreneurs who attended the Design Indaba held at Cape Town’s Artscape.
Sizwe Mbiza, founder of Sizembiza a production studio based in Johannesburg said the government should push more on funding platforms and making them available to young entrepreneurs as a possible.
“In order for you to create art, you need some sort of financial backing so I feel like the government should push that aspect of things to put South African art out there.”
Speaking of small business trade relationships with other African small businesses, he said that he was not aware of any company that connects South African small businesses to other businesses on the continent.
“I feel like that’s the most important because, in order for Africa to move on and continue forward, we need to work collectively and work with each other.”
Cape Town-based Shweshwekini active-wear founder, Mapitso Thaisi also said that funding was one of the challenges that she still struggles with, however, there are other national funding systems that she was made aware of by being at the Design Indaba with the help of the Department of Arts and Culture who sponsored young entrepreneurs to be there.
“Funding is not gonna knock at your door unfortunately when you start your start your entrepreneur venture, so that requires a lot of research. So currently I have approached Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and they showed much interest so I’m still in that process of having Seda’s support.”
Shweshwekini is a range of Shweshwe inspired swimwear and active-wear started in 2017 with the inspiration of African printed swimwear, that can also cater for the African figured and celebrate African bodies.
Young Port Elizabeth-based fashion designer Gugu Peteni who attend the Design Indaba said that funding was the hardest in starting a business.
She, however, said that she was grateful that the company she is currently working for had sponsored her new range called “Rise” aimed at motivating women to rise up against all daily injustice that women face. She added that young entrepreneurs should also put themselves out there and seek funding opportunities.
A fund with an allocation of R2.1-billion over the medium term was being developed between the departments of small business, science and technology and treasury to benefit small and medium enterprises, South Africa’s finance Minister Malusi Gigaba announced during his budget speech to parliament on Wednesday.
This fund will assist small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) during their early startup phase, he said.
He added that the government was strengthening policies for public procurement in a bid to support black economic empowerment, industrialisation and the development of small businesses.
