Strong Partnerships Key In Solving Socio-Economic Troubles, Says AUC

> Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

Cape Town: “We must share as members of the international community to contribute to a better world for all. The political crisis and conflicts in several parts of the world including in our own backyard in Africa, have local, regional and international dimensions”.

These are the words of Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Speaking during the Africa Week 2016 High Level Inaugural Event on “Strengthening Partnership for Inclusive Sustainable Development, good governance , peace and stability on Africa”, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York earlier in October, with the week-long series of events paying particular attention on Africa's development.

Mwencha further called for strengthened partnerships, cooperation and collaboration both in Africa and globally, to address unprecedented socio-economic and political challenges.

He observed that with the ongoing migration crisis, escalating threats of terrorism, adverse effects of climate change, shrinking resources, conflict and insecurity, impunity, rising intolerance and gender inequity, there is need to collectively address the universal challenges.

Mwencha noted that to ensure effective cooperation, coherence, synergy and coordination of the diverse AU organs, institutions and Regional Economic Communities, the AU is keen on supporting the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), which he said, presents enormous potential and opportunity for partnership in harnessing the needed various competencies, resources and capacities towards attainment of durable peace in Africa.

In echoing similar sentiments, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his remarks, underscored the need for the international community to support African countries, and directly and actively work with all relevant national and regional stakeholders, including the African Peer Review Mechanism, to improve good governance, and the conduct of elections and to ensure that civil society has the freedom to play its vital role. 

Ki-moon noted that the UN has worked tirelessly to strengthen peace and security in Africa and noted the Organization’s support for implementation of the African Peace Security Architecture in moving ahead with the African Union initiative to silence the guns by 2020, as well as working alongside it to consolidate peace in the Great Lakes, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and other troubled spots. He qouted the age-old African word of wisdom stating “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’.”

Conversely, Maged Abdelaziz, the Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa observed that with the enormity of the ambitions contained in both Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, coupled with the accelerated timelines set for their achievement, calls for new partnership approaches in support of Africa’s efforts.

Maged noted that the key to successful implementation of the First 10-Year Implementation Plan for Agenda 2063 stresses the need to maximize partnerships, particularly in the areas of resource mobilization, technology transfer, and capacity building. Similarly, Goal 17 of the 2030 Agenda emphasizes on the need for revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development as critical for the achievement of its goals.

Meanwhile, other High Level participants included principals from UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), NEPAD and APRM.

The Presidency

Address by President Zuma on the occasion of celebrating 20 years of signing into law of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa

10 December 2016

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa,

Ministers and Deputy Ministers present

MECs, Executive Mayors,

Members of the national and provincial Legislatures,

Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions,

Traditional Leaders

Faith Based Organisations

Fellow South Africans,

 

Bagaetso Dumelang!

Sanibonani! Avhuxeni! Molweni!

 

We greet you all today as we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the signing into law of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. We are marking this day under theme; ”Celebrating 20 years of the Constitution – transforming society and uniting the nation’’.

The Constitution is the birth certificate of the democratic South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the democratic South Africa. It commits us, individually and collectively, to build a nation based on the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom, through constitutionalism and the rule of law. 

 

It sets out how the state will be constituted and run. It outlines our rights and responsibilities as citizens and the creation of particular institutions to support and safeguard our democracy. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and all laws passed by parliament must be in line with the Constitution, in our constitutional democracy.

 

The constitution arose out of many hours and days of hard work by men and women who were members of the Constitution Drafting Committee of the then Constitutional Assembly, which was capably led by Deputy President Ramaphosa.

In much the same way that the Freedom Charter was drafted, the Constitution drafting process touched thousands of people across the length and breadth of South Africa, who were called upon to make their voices heard.

After two years of public consultation and much debate, the new Constitution was finally adopted on 08 May 1996 by an overwhelming 87 percent of the members of the Constitutional Assembly. Following adoption, the text was referred to the Constitutional Court for certification, which was done on 04 December 1996. 

 

President Mandela signed the Constitution into law on 10 December 1996. The Deputy President joined Madiba here in Sharpeville on the day for the signing ceremony. Madiba chose Sharpeville as the venue to symbolise the beginning of a new era. The people of Sharpeville suffered one of the most brutal atrocities of the apartheid era, when people were mercilessly killed in March 1960.

Today is also International Human Rights Day, commemorating the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 

This year’s International Human Rights Day theme is “Stand up for someone’s rights today!”

Bakwethu

Namhlanje, sigubha iminyaka engamashumi amabili selokhu uMongameli Nelson Mandela asayinda khona umthethosisekelo omusha wezwe lakithi.

Lomthethosisekelo waqeda inqubo yobandlulo, waletha uhulumeni wentando yeningi. Abantu baseningizimu Afrika bazizwa bevikelekile kakhulu ngenxa yalomthethosisekelo, ngoba uvikela amalungelo abo.

The Constitution defines the structure of government. It outlines the division of South Africa into nine provinces, and establishes the structure of national, provincial and local spheres of government and the principles that govern the interaction between the spheres.

Importantly, our Constitution contains an important democratic principle called the separation of powers. That means that the power of the state is divided between three different but interdependent components or arms, namely the executive (Cabinet), the legislature (Parliament) and a single independent judiciary (Courts of law).

 

A key feature of the Constitution is a well-developed system of checks and balances. These include judicial review, the independent judiciary, legislative oversight over the executive and the establishment of Chapter 9 institutions, which are mandated to promote and protect various human rights. Our courts are trusted final arbiters in disputes in society.

To maintain this role, our judiciary needs to jealously guard its independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness. Other arms of the state must support the judiciary to maintain this role. Access to justice continues to improve in the country.

Last month a new High Court was opened in Limpopo, thus ending the need for the people of Limpopo to travel to Gauteng to access high court services. Government continues to improve access to justice through services such as the increase in legal aid funding and supporting courts such as maintenance courts and small claims courts to help the vulnerable and poor access justice.

It is important to note that the three arms of the State continue to work together in a spirit of cooperation. Where problems arise, these are discussed and resolved. An important meeting took place last year at the Union Buildings to discuss problems in the working relations between the Executive and the Judiciary, for the first time ever in our democracy.

 

This was a very important signal that the system works, and that mechanisms exist to iron out any difficulties. There is ongoing work to implement the decisions of that meeting, led by Deputy President Ramaphosa.

 

The President hosted another meeting between the Judiciary, parliament and the Executive in Cape Town last year, to discuss working relations.

 

When the three arms function effectively and smoothly, the people benefit.

Parliament also continues to function effectively, with members of parliament conducting their oversight work over the government.

They ensure that government departments do what they are supposed to do in providing services to the people, and also that budgets are spent in line with the work that needs to be done.

The chapter 9 institutions include the Office of the Public Protector, Office of the Auditor-General, South African Human Rights Commission, Independent Electoral Commission, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural Religious and Linguistic Communities and the Commission on Gender Equality.

The institutions are accountable to the National Assembly and have to report on their activities and the performance of their functions to the Assembly at least once a year.

We urge members of the public to use the Chapter 9 institutions to highlight any possible violations of their rights as stated in the Constitution. We also urge all arms of the state to support the Chapter 9 institutions in their work.

The checks and balances also include the Public Service Commission, which must be independent and impartial in the interest of the maintenance of effective and efficient public administration and a high standard of professional ethics in the public service. The Bill of Rights remains one of the fundamental features of our Constitution, affirming the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. 

 

One of its key features are the rights of assembly and association as well as the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media, which key cornerstones of our democracy.

 

The Bill of Rights also contains socio-economic rights, including rights to education, healthcare, social security or water and electricity. Much work has been done since 1994 to ensure the enjoyment of these rights to the people. Concrete steps have been taken since 1994, to remove the laws upon which institutionalised racial discrimination was based.

During the first ten years of democracy alone, seven hundred and eighty nine laws or amendments aimed at reconfiguring South African society were approved by Parliament. Government further introduced a new regulatory environment to promote black economic advancement and affirmative action, in order to reverse the legacy of racial discrimination in the workplace and the economy.

Laws promoting, amongst other, employment equity, broad-based black economic empowerment and the prevention of unfair discrimination were enacted to promote economic transformation. The dismantling of the legal framework of apartheid and the transformation of many state institutions has led to visible improvement of the socio-economic conditions of millions of people.

On food security, land reform and agrarian reform for instance, Government has distributed nearly eight million hectares of agricultural land to previously disadvantaged individuals against a targeted 24 million hectares. The implementation of the land reform programme continues, as part of ensuring redress and true reconciliation and healing.

 

Land restitution and reform is provided for in Section 25 of the Constitution. More efforts are being put into speeding up the land reform programme. Households are being supported to participate in subsistence farming in rural areas, while the development of agricultural parks is designed to promote a thriving agricultural economy.

Government continues to restore dignity through the provision of housing and quality basic services to our people. Over 3.7 million houses have been built since 1994. A lot more must still be done to upgrade informal settlements.

Government continues to build dams and other infrastructure, to extend water supply and sanitation to many families.

The rollout of electricity has increased in terms of the number of households. We have moved from 10 million in 2007 to 15.4 million with access to electricity, which is 91 percent.

Our Constitution enjoins us to educate our children and youth to become future leaders and proficient citizens. That is why Government has expanded access and improved the quality of education. There has been a steady increase in the overall matric pass rate to reach 71 per cent in 2015. We want to see more learners achieving bachelor passes in the year 2016.

Since 1994 we have almost doubled the number of students in Higher Education Institutions to close to a million students. Enrolments at Training and Vocational Education and Training Colleges stood at more than seven hundred thousand in 2014. In 1994 the figure was one hundred and fifty thousand. The doors of learning are being opened indeed.

Advances have been made towards building a healthy nation. South Africans now live longer with the average age being 62 years in 2014. More importantly, we have made dramatic inroads in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

 

Uhulumeni wentando yeningi ususindise izimpilo zabantu abaningi abaphila negciwane lesandulela ngculaza ngokubanika amaphilisi. Sikhuluma nje badlulile ezigidini ezintathu (3 million), abantu abathola ukwelashwa osekwenze izimpilo zabo zangcono, bakwazi nokusebenza.

Konke lokhu kwenziwa ukubakhona komthethosisekelo othi abantu badinga impilo engcono.

Umthethosisekelo uthi futhi abantu abampofu, ikakhulukazi izingane nabakhubazekile, abathole izibonelelo kuhulumeni. Beqile ezigidini ezingu 16 million abathola izibonelelo zezingane, ezabadala nezabakhubazekile. Lokhu kuyasiza ukuthi sixoshe indlala. 

Government still needs to reach children under the age of one and those living in remote areas and farms. Work continues to make South Africa safer for all. Police work round the clock to fight crime.

We thank members of the community who cooperate with the police and report crime. We also extend our gratitude to members of the public who do not engage in unacceptable behaviour such as buying stolen goods, which perpetuates crime.

Compatriots

The Constitution says we must heal the divisions of the past. In this regard, we all need to play our part in building a non-racial society. The recent reported displays of racism in the country indicate that more work must still be done to fight racism.

However, we should also acknowledge that a lot of progress has been made in promoting unity in our country. We will not allow a few racists to win the day and take us backwards. Further work is being done to promote a society free of all forms of discrimination.

Government is leading the process through finalising the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance for implementation, working with key stakeholders.

With regards to promoting gender equality, we are pleased that the Constitution has enabled us to advance more women in our society, with 42.5 per cent of women having been elected into legislative bodies in 2014.  

Work must continue steadily to achieve 50 percent, in recognition of the role women play in society and our own Constitution which enshrines non-sexism.

Today marks the end of the campaign of 16 days of activism of no violence against women. In this regard, we urge all of you to continue to be vigilant and promote safer homes, communities and workplaces for women, every day of the year. Women have a right to safety and security.

 

Fellow South Africans,

Our Constitution is our precious heritage.

It has been an excellent guide in the journey of building a new national democratic society in the past 20 years of its existence. Let us stand together as a united, sovereign, democratic state, and strengthen our efforts of building a nation free from poverty, inequality and unemployment, together.

It is my privilege and honour, on behalf of all arms of the state, to congratulate South Africans on this 20 year milestone! 

Long live the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa!

 

I thank you.

The Presidency

News24

People Must Start Their Businesses

18 May 2016, 08:30

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

A new era in township business in South Africa has heralded. 

Yes, the Family Best Buying Group (FBBG) has hit the ground running.

As South Africa welcomes the milestone achievement in the development township businesses, it would be healthy to also look at the economics and politics that threaten or can grow this news township business venture.

With the birth of the FBBG, which is by the way, the first 100 percent black owned buying group in the country, as many some entrepreneurs have alluded, real Black economic empowerment (BEE) has arrived.
Initially, the Family Best Buying Group is an initiative of The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its affiliate, ACHIB ( African Co-operative for Hawkers and Informal Businesses) who joined hands with Advance Cash and Carry, one of Gauteng’s biggest independent distributors of groceries and fast moving consumer goods. 

Advance Cash and Carry is owned by the entrepreneurial Kalla family, owners of Amka Products some of whose brands include Soft ‘n Free, Easywaves, Black like Me, Revlon among others.
FBBG further aims to address the challenges being faced by township businesses including the matter of malls that are mushrooming in townships. 

Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu has given her full support to Family Best Buying Group (FBBG) initiative.  Commenting at a recent business gathering she said the FBBG  is a clear testimony of people taking action, “we have people who are saying it’s possible and we are going to do it’’.
Zulu also emphasized the importance of supporting the growth of township businesses. “This partnership will go a long way in stabilising trade and healthy competition among township shop owners,” she said.
According to JT Foxx, the World's #No1 Wealth Coach, as a small business owner in South Africa, "You're part of one of the most vibrant economies in the world."
"But it's more than that. You're a vital part of your community."

Foxx says, "Small businesses are the most integral piece of the South African economy. In 2011 alone, there were 5,579,767 small business owners, which is roughly 10% of the total population."

He notes, "If you don't own a small business, you're probably part of the 68% of people who are employed by them. The bad news is that at least five out of every seven small businesses will fail. And almost every one of those failures could be prevented." According to Entrepreneur Magazine, one of the top 5 reasons South African small business fail is due to the lack of a Marketing and Branding strategy. 

"Many businesses start out with a bang only to plateau a few years later. You wouldn't take a journey without a map. You shouldn't go another day without a marketing and branding strategy. "

And another effective option for developing entrepreneurs is that of business hubs.

Take Raizcorp for example. Raizcorp is Africa’s only unfunded for-profit business incubator model that provides full-service business support programmes that guide entrepreneurs to profitability. 

Drawing on the best practices of business incubator models, worldwide, Raizcorp has created “Prosperation” – its own unique, world-renowned model of business incubation. 

Raizcorp also works with entrepreneurs, corporates and governments around the globe in order to support entrepreneurial development strategies and initiatives.

To date, Raizcorp  has over 900 companies that have graduated from its Prosperator programmes, currently supports 400 plus companies in Prosperation programmes, develops over 3 000 companies per annum in “other” programmes and has 8 physical business incubators known as Prosperators (7 in RSA and 1 in Angola).

Others include discussions and negotiations with numerous African countries,  operates using urban, peri-urban and rural models, employs approximately 109 full time staff, has been profitable since 2006, processes between 10 and 40 applications to incubation programmes per day, employs approximately 109 full time staff, has been profitable since 2006.

Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel in promoting the Black Industrialists programmes remarks, "If we don’t watch (the creation of black equity stakes in businesses) carefully it simply becomes like a tax on companies. We want to say to fellow black South Africans ‘get into the economy — build things and make things’," he says.
Minister of Trade and Industry (DTI), Dr. Rob Davies,  Minister of Trade and Industry (DTI) adds, 

“The lessons that we’ve drawn and which is also the common understanding of the African continent is that industrialisation is necessary because if we don’t industrialise we are trapped in the most disadvantageous place in the global division of labour as producers and exporters of primary products and as importers of finished goods, that is the most disadvantageous position to be in because the real value in value chains lies in the parts that take place after the delivery of the primary materials,” he says.

As Dr. Davies further explains, “This Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) also represents our intent to progressively upscale our industrial policy. What is clear to all of us is that this economy has not had sufficiently fast inclusive economic growth, GDP growth has not been high enough and the growth that we’ve had has not been inclusive enough to place us in a position where we can see a significant dent in the levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment in our country,” 

“What we are doing is that we are creating an environment, we are creating a support package of measures, we are creating a defensive framework that will allow manufacturing activities to flourish in South Africa, that’s what it’s about.”

The Minister further added that a total of 3 384 private sector enterprises across all provinces were provided with incentive and other support in 2014 to a value of R13.6 billion.
Chairman of the Manufacturing Circle, Bruce Strong welcomed the IPAP, saying that South Africa’s growth is tied to the health of manufacturing.

With the opportunity presented by the Family Best Buying Group, the message has become loud and clear. Start your own business or businesses, innovate, make and produce things in order to make it big in the 21st century economy.

---

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The Southern Times

BUSINESS

AU pushes up intra-African trade

By Staff Reporter on 25th November 20161 Comment

> Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

CAPE TOWN – THE African Union is intent on advancing intra-continental trade. This became clear during the 8th meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General (AUSCDG) of Customs held in Harare on Monday this past week.   

The theme of the gathering was: “From Barriers to Bridges-Implementing One-Stop Border Posts for Improved Trade Facilitation”.

Heads of customs agencies in Africa, representatives from Regional Economic Communities (RECs), World Customs Organization (WCO), African Development Bank (AfDB), and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), among others, attended the meeting.

AUSCDG noted in a statement that the meeting discussed the African Union’s important agenda of creating a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) within the framework of Boosting Intra African Trade (BIAT) for economic growth and development on the African continent.

“The significance of OSBP (one stop border post), as a concept for removing barriers to trade at border posts was therefore highlighted as a trade facilitation measure that would speed up the establishment of the CFTA,” it said.

“The objectives of the meeting were to take stock of the work that has been carried out so far by technical working groups and to endorse the recommendations of the experts and to reflect further on the issue of Implementing one-stop border posts for improved Trade Facilitation in order to Boost Intra-African Trade.”

Happias Kuzvinzwa, the Acting Commissioner General of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), in his opening address, recalled the theme of the meeting and admitted that it is in line with the current economic trends in Africa.

He pointed out that borders by nature, divide countries and act as frontiers between countries.  Kuzvinzwa also mentioned that the theme places emphasis on the removal of barriers, borders and boundaries to form bridges that connect countries.

He emphasised that building bridges allows connectivity, which he said links people-to-people, eases border congestion, ensures smooth movement of both human and vehicle traffic across borders and in turn increases trade relations between nations.

Kuzvinzwa also raised some of the challenges faced by customs administrations.  He suggested that the establishment of Single Window Systems, coupled with one-stop border posts, would go a long way in promoting efficiency and reducing time and cost for traders.

“Cross-Border Cooperation is one of the solutions to some of the challenges that customs administrations face in the discharge of their mandates,” Kuzvinzwa underscored.

Kumio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of WCO, thanked Zimbabwe for the warm welcome and expressed the readiness of his organisation to assist and support the country’s initiatives launched in the framework of reform and modernisation through human resources capacity building.

Mikuriya stressed that the theme of the meeting fits with the WCO’s vision.  He announced that the WCO will next year organise a Global Conference on Transit in order to support regional integration in Africa.

He highlighted the importance of data collection, data exchange and data analysis and urged the meeting to share best practices and promised that the meeting’s outcomes will be incorporated into the WCO’s capacity building programmes.

Outgoing Chairperson of the AUSCDGC, Ambassador Lazarus Kapambwe, highlighted the importance of removing barriers to trade, as a trade facilitation measure that would speed up the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area, which is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063.

“Barriers were established because of fear of the neighbour. However, in a globalised world, countries need to open up but within a safe environment based on rules agreed upon by all.

“This is why the AU is spearheading negotiations for the basic rules that will guide the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and enable us to move and trade within a conducive environment,” he stated.

Kapambwe also recalled the pertinence of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and urged member states to accelerate its ratification and implementation for it could reduce the costs of trade by between 12.5 and 17.5 percent among both developed and developing countries respectively.

In this regard, Kapambwe encouraged member states to carry out the necessary trade facilitation measures that will ensure the tightening of all loopholes in order to attain the AU’s vision of doubling intra-African trade by 2022.

The conclusions of this 8th meeting will be presented to the African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Trade, Industry and Mining, and the Specialised Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration of the Union for further consideration and endorsement.

The Southern Times

BUSINESS

African Union Commission moves on SME strategy

By Staff Reporter on 21st October 2016

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

CAPE TOWN-WHAT will a recent workshop held in Kenya do for small business development in Africa? It is worth noting that the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Strategy and Master Plan 2017-2021 provides the continent with an opportunity to ‘jumpstart’ economic growth and development.

And the African Union Commission (AUC) began the process of validating the SME Strategy and Master Plan 2017-2021, when it held a two-day workshop that started on October 10 in Nairobi.

Critical to the plan’s success is how far the AUC can sell the plan to its members and convince them that small businesses hold the key in the development of Africa.

According to the AUC, “The objective of the initiative is to develop an African Union strategic framework, which will support the implementation of the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA) and Africa’s sustainable economic transformation under Agenda 2063.”

The workshop was attended by the Senior Industry Officers from the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Private Sector and Development Partners. AUC and UNECA officials co-chaired the working sessions.

“The SME Strategy and Master Plan 2017-2021 aims, among others, at improving the continental business environment, increasing business formation, supporting formalisation of growth-oriented informal enterprises and startups, increasing SME/Is, MSMEs and entrepreneurs’ participation in regional and global value chains and promoting innovative financing,” according to the AUC.

Treasure Thembisile Maphanga, Director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the African Union Commission, is appreciative of participants for their continuous commitment in supporting the AU’s Department of Trade and Industry to contribute to the sustainable structural transformation of the continent through Industrialisation.

She praised RECs and experts from various institutions – including the European Union, JICA, Traidlinks, UNCTAD, UNECA and the Canadian Government who worked closely with the Commission during the last few months by providing inputs in order to enrich the draft SME Strategy and Master Plan.

Maphanga pointed out that “industrialisation has recently become a high priority for more countries and more cooperating partners.”

She echoed the tragedy that migrants are going through while trying to join Europe and the high rate of youth’s unemployment.

“The continent’s industrialisation appears to be the winning strategy that will accelerate job creation and poverty alleviation for the coming years in addition to supporting the continent’s sustainable structural transformation,” said the AUC official.

Maphanga also referred to some key statistics about the youth population in Africa to highlight the importance of taking advantage of its full potential.

“In 2015, 226 million youths aged 15-24 lived in Africa, accounting for 19 percent of the global youth population. By 2030, it is projected that the number of youths in Africa will have increased by 42 percent. Africa’s youth population is expected to continue to grow throughout the remainder of the 21st century, more than doubling from current levels by 2055,” she emphasised. Maphanga says Africa must deepen its reflections and support for youths and start-ups.

Meanwhile, the SME Strategy and Master Plan identifies initiatives that should be undertaken in the next five years that are aimed at unleashing the potential of SMEs.

In harnessing the youth’s demographic dividend, which is the 2017 theme of the AU, Maphanga said research has identified some policy actions related to SME Development as key levers.

“According to the findings, economic reforms to create more quality jobs with multiplier effects, enhance innovation and productivity of the informal sector and support graduation from small to medium-sized enterprises, as well as transformative education to focus on innovation, skills development, science and technology and entrepreneurship are winning strategies,” Maphanga remarked.

ANN7

SMEs key to Africa’s economic growth

May 15, 2016

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Small Economies: Nurturing the small business sector has the potential to grow Africa’s economies and attract investment. Picture: Facebook

Africa’s small business sector has the potential to grow the continent’s economies, create jobs and attract the much needed investment.

A series of activities over the past couple of years have played a part in the pumping up of the Africa Risingstory.

One such development is the May 2014 forum at Gallagher Convention Centre, for the first international trade conference designed specifically for small and medium enterprises.

At this forum, Africa’s brightest and most promising gathered to pave a way for the future of SMEs on the continent and what could be done to create a thriving small business sector.

As correctly analysed then, the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) of South Africa as organisers, had embarked on a new journey, not only for South Africa, but for the rest of the African continent.

The success of the conference also ensured that international trade for the small business sector would become a big drive for the continent’s development on the road ahead.

Themed Trading Across Borders, this trade conference attracted more than 1000 delegates from all over South Africa as well as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.

According to the organisers, these delegates were primarily seasoned SME decision makers who attended this all important forum for the purpose of getting to know more about accessing new markets and growing and competing in the global arena.

Another notable milestone was the launch of Build a Business in Afrika initiative, now a global leader in small business and entrepreneurial development and also the official ambassador of NSBC in South Africa and throughout the African continent.

The main outcomes of the conference included the question of extension into Africa, with the following focus points: exposing South African SMEs to international trade experts; linking SA’s SMEs to funding and support; showing the country’s SMEs how to expand their global customer base.

Others included helping SMEs establish contacts with foreign partners; inviting SMEs to ongoing international trade forums; helping SMEs get to know the African economy; providing local SMEs with ongoing education on global trading.

A point of strength for the SMEs in Africa is that there is now a united voice and international trade is the key to growth and competitiveness, the key driver for small and medium enterprises around the world.

“If you are serious about expanding and boosting your top line, follow our educational journey and seize the opportunity to take your business into the lucrative global arena,” was a stated at the conference.

Remarking further on Build A Business in Afrika, the SME forum said: “If you’re looking to start out or grow your business and expand internationally, then this is an unmissable opportunity for you too.

Get exposed to unique and amazing opportunities; receive daily success tips and inspiration; network and gain information or assistance in exporting your products or setting up overseas operations.

To confirm the success of the 2014 forum, last year thousands of business people gathered at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as part of the follow up to that masterpiece vision at Gallagher.

This was a celebration of another season in SA of My Business Expo, now incorporating Business Start-Up Expo Access to Finance Expo, Small Biz Techno Expo, My Business Seminars and the world-famous Buzz Party, The Franchise Show and Build a Business Live programme.

With more than 27000 visitors, 500 exhibitors and sponsors, and top of the line seminars, many participants still refer to this as the most successful show of its kind in the region.

One thing is clear though, there is new energy for the development of small business and entrepreneurship in South Africa and the rest of the continent.

And if the small business and entrepreneurship community can be dedicated to the success of small business in South Africa and Africa, it will be a big role in growing, teaching and learning, networking, connecting,and inspiring many more entrepreneurs.

African governments would do well to join forces with these initiatives for economic growth purposes.

More recently, a workshop on the plan of action of the Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa, which kicked off in October last year, in Nairobi, Kenya, was another opportunity to leverage the African SME sector.

Organised by the African Union Commission and its Department of Trade and Industry the workshop brought together relevant practitioners with experience and influence in the SME sector, to learn from the challenges they face and their achievements in supporting SME development.

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

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