Black Supplier along with PPC cement hosted an Emerging Constructor Networking Conference at the Soweto Theatre last week Tuesday.

Aimed at bridging the gap in the industry between big corporations and small contractors, the conference is the first of its kind to bring all the players in the industry into one event.

The conference took place over two days with a specific focus on each day, starting off with highlighting key opportunities within the sector.

Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba was the keynote speaker of the day and his address was mainly focused on how the city’s economy is aimed at absorbing small businesses.

“The economy is looking to make use of small but competent and professional businesses in future infrastructural projects.

“There are opportunities to be taken by small and medium contractors and the city is looking to absorb and make use of small businesses so that they can flourish in the near future,” said Mashaba.

“The interaction between suppliers and contractors is fluid and ever changing, so it is important to keep up to date with developments.

“So the active function of today is to create an interaction between suppliers and contractors, but also to provide networking opportunity between established businesses and up and coming businesses,” said Gerald Ndlovu, Executive Director of Black Suppliers.

Construction research conducted by the eThekwini Municipality in 2013 shows that the lack of both soft and technical skills, lack of business drive, non-compliance and lack of funds to start businesses, are some of the reasons why these companies are unable to access services.

Building and civil engineering are two categories of construction that require extensive institutional learning and these categories are catered for in all the programmes that support contractors and have been presented in the conference.

This is also one of the initiatives that PPC invested in as part of their commitment to giving back to communities where they operate.

The conference gave PPC the opportunity to contribute and provide solutions to the challenges of unemployment and start-up businesses in South Africa, particularly in Soweto.

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News site 1: Westside-Eldos Urban News, News site 2: Soweto Urban News