Housing in Southern Africa November 2015

News

Atlantis opens doors for entrepreneurs

T he newManufacturing Technol- ogy Centre (MTC) situated in Atlantis will open the door for more entrepreneurs to participate in the green economy. The City of Cape Town’s Economic Development Department and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) provided funding, technical support and sharing of expertise for the new centre. Located in the heart of the Atlantis industrial hub and occupying 15 000 m² of factory space, it is well equipped to lend a helping hand to entrepre- neurs to ensure the sustainability of their businesses in the renewable energy/energy saving sector. The R500 000 match funding grant provided by the City in support of this entrepreneurial incubation pro- grammewill contribute to the City and Western Cape Government industrial incentives to attract companies to relocate to the Atlantis area. The City has partnered with SEDA. The South African Renewable Energy Business Incubator (SAREBI) is a business in- cubator funded by SEDA Technology Programme and focuses on providing non-financial assistance to entre- preneurs in the renewable energy industry. The MTC has been set up to provide subsidised facilities, infrastructure, equipment support, access to tech- nology and a link with professionals and experts in the field, to assist the selected companies to develop their businesses. “The objectives of this business incubation development programme is to create an enabling environment to help entrepreneurs and attract investment in the area. This will in turn create economic growth and job creation and ensure sustainability of

small andmediumenterprises (SMEs) through the provision of resources. In Phase One, five entrepreneurs have already set up viable business entities. They will receive further support by way of mentorship and coaching that will ensure the future sustainability of their ventures,” said the City’s May- oral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development, Garreth Bloor. A substantial amount of work had to be undertaken at the MTC to cus- tomise the work area and the incuba- tion space to suit each SME. One of the first businesses to relocatemoved from Killarney Gardens to Atlantis. Over and above office space, tele- phone lines and internet connectivity, they required a secure product storage area for their materials and finished goods, as well as welding tables and a spray-painting facility. In comparison, the requirements for a LED lighting company that is now situated at the centre differed substantially. Working with small and expensive components required a very secureworkspace, which necessitated the building of a cage around their workshop. Due to the nature of their operation, a stable electricity supply was also a prerequisite. In addition, they required support with branding and advertising. A luminaire manufacturer request- ed a much larger space to be fitted with a specialised casting room, for curing the resins used in their lights. Support for another start-up busi- ness took the form of allocating a business mentor to help with busi- ness planning and to facilitate a loan application process. “These examples highlight the versatility of the services offered by the business incubation

centre. We see this as being a crucial component for the success and sus- tainability of budding entrepreneurs. Many SMEs fail due to the one-size- fits-all solutions that are generally pro- vided. The best return on investment for the City is to see these businesses grow and at the same time stimulate further job creation,” said Bloor. The renewable energy sector, cur- rently in its infancy stage, requires development support and assistance specifically for small and medium enterprises who wish to enter the sector. The South African Renewable Energy Business Incubator (SAREBI) was set up to help start-up businesses in this sector. “One of the aims of SAREBI was for the entrepreneurs to stimulate job creation in Atlantis and surrounding areas. New jobs were created for the local community within the first six months of the project. This is a step in the right direction and we are pleased that these up and coming entrepre- neurs have risen to the challenge,” concludes Bloor. ■

November 2015