The competitiveness of informal traders will receive a boost with the Department of Small Business Development set to hand over tools and equipment to informal business owners in Mpumalanga.
Minister Lindiwe Zulu, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Sikhumbuzo Kholwane and Nkomazi Local Municipality mayor Johan Mkhatshwa are expected to hand over equipment to 138 informal business owners on Saturday.
The department said the handover of business tools and equipment is part of its Informal and Micro Enterprise Development Programme (IMEDP), which strives to accelerate the growth of informal and micro enterprises by improving their competitiveness and sustainability to become formal businesses and partake in the mainstream economy.
“It is imperative that we improve our support to informal traders, with a sole focus of enabling them to be competitive and sustainable. This is the sector that creates more jobs and directly helps to reduce poverty,” said Zulu on Friday.
In the 2019 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to significantly expand the Small Business Incubation Programme, which provides budding entrepreneurs with physical space, infrastructure and shared services, access to specialised knowledge, market linkages, training in the use of new technologies and access to finance.
The IMEDP Programme is a catalytic instrument with a potential to improve efficiency and productivity, which may lead to profitability.
The ultimate objective is to see evolution of informal businesses into formal medium-sized businesses that will participate meaningfully in global value chains.
Saturday’s handover is scheduled to get underway at Kamhlushwa Stadium in Malelane at 10am. –SAnews.gov.za
