July 15, 2005
By Anish Abraham
THE Business Place in downtown Joburg has been so successful, the City and its partners have decided to create a satellite centre in Kliptown.
The increasing number of Sowetans seeking advice from The Business Place has prompted the move.
The City's economic development unit and the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) have decided to initiate a Business Place satellite centre in the historic township.
The JDA is also undertaking an area regeneration project of the Greater Kliptown area, and local consultations have revealed there is a need for a walk-in business advice centre.
The Business Place, set up in 2001 by a public-private partnership, offers aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs courses on basic life skills, starting a business, financial management and running and growing a business.
Aspiring entrepreneurs seek advice at The Business Place in downtown Joburg
"We are a youth-friendly organisation dedicated to assisting small enterprise," says Marcel Newsome, the business manager at the centre.
It is a Section 21 company, a non-profit organisation, supported by the City of Johannesburg, Unisa and Investec Bank.
As part of its 2030 growth strategy, the City has committed itself to funding and assisting institutions that help upgrade the skills of aspirant entrepreneurs.
On average 200 clients a week visit The Business Place, though Newsome says recently numbers have reached 500 clients a week.
About 65 percent of these are under the age of 35 and most live in Soweto or the inner city.
The organisation has a staff of 20, most having the title navigator. Instead of doing things for their clients, they use interactive methods to ensure there is a transfer of knowledge.
"The client has to be aware of what is going on," Newsome says.
The organisation can also allocate vouchers on behalf of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, a national government fund set up to help job creation and skills development for people between the ages of 18 and 35.
These can be used to get assistance from service providers in fields like business planning, branding, accounting services, information technology hardware and software, and business administration, among others.
To help aspiring entrepreneurs further, Investec invited service providers to set up offices in the same building as The Business Place, so cutting out the cost of travel.
It regularly hosts members from firms and organisations like Ernst & Young, Webber Wentzel Bowens and the Gauteng Shared Services Centre to give entrepreneurs advice on legal and accounting matters, as well as help on the tendering process.
The organisation has a database of 12 000 clients which it hopes to link to its website. This move will increase the exposure of the clients' businesses.
Networking sessions are held, where entrepreneurs in the same sector meet each month.
"The amazing part is that we do not do much marketing for the organisation," says Lisa Kropman, the head of corporate social investment at Investec.
There have been a few promotional clips on local radio and some exhibitions.
"After our exhibition at the Youth Day rally, there was a massive jump in numbers of clients coming for advice," Newsome adds. "Many find out about us through word of mouth."
Depending on its budget, the City allocates R1,2 million towards funding The Business Place each year.
The satellite centre will offer limited services. Clients who want help in the accounting and legal fields will be referred to the inner city centre.
To run it, the economic development unit has set aside R600 000 a year for the next three years. Investec has also agreed to help with funding.
It is not ready just yet, however. The building that will house the satellite centre is not ready and The Business Place has to build the capacity of those who will run it.
However, Kropman is optimistic that the Kliptown satellite will be up and running by the end of the year.
Newsome, who did similar work in Mozambique for seven years, is excited about the new development, saying he is focussing on ways to increase employment.
"I am not sure what we can do more in terms of what we offer," he says, "but there is always room to improve current operations."
There are similar centres in Cape Town; Phillipi, a township outside Cape Town; King William's Town; St Lucia; and Gaborone, in Botswana.
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