uThukela District Municipality, in partnership with the uThukela Economic Development Agency (UEDA), recently hosted business sessions with the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) to target the youth and women in business, primarily in agriculture and the agri-processing sector. The event was held at Dongala Hotel in Ladysmith to support the development of small businesses in the area.
The meeting was held to give key stakeholders a platform to share knowledge and experiences in order to sharpen the process of developing the economy.
Deputy Minister Sifiso Buthelezi from the Agriculture Section, Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale from Small Business Development, Deputy Minister Madala Masuku from Economic Development, Minister of Arts & Culture Nathi Mthethwa, Alfred Duma Mayor Vincent Madlala, uThukela District Deputy Mayor Cllr NW Sibiya, Speaker PG Strydom and DCP Mazibuko (CEO of UEDA) joined hands to support youth- and women-owned enterprises.
This initiative aims to assist youth and women in business to foster economic involvement in the area through entrepreneurship.
The main objective of the visit was to engage business operators, hear what challenges they encounter in running their businesses, educate them about possible business opportunities that are available, and expose them to government support services to enable them to thrive in the business world.
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The presence of various stakeholders from other government departments and support agencies gave the aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to tackle business-related issues on the spot, including some of the administrative challenges they may have been battling with.
Both in the one-on-one with the support agencies and the dialogue facilitated by deputy ministers, the small business operators raised a number of issues.
Among these issues was the need for skills training in running their businesses, challenges faced with registering their businesses on government’s Central Database, accessing funding and tax compliance processes, among others.
The UEDA committed itself to give the entrepreneurs further support. The UEDA is there to assist the district in growing the economy through investments, tourism and agriculture.
Mayor Madlala stressed the issue of youth unemployment and the importance of entrepreneurship. He further explained that it is important that young people become entrepreneurs to create employment opportunities for the youth and also help them to develop new skills, and promote innovation and resilience among the youth who are taking the lead in the world of business in the uThukela District.
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