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42 small businesses recognised for job creation efforts

9th October 2015

By: Zandile Mavuso

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

  

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Two years since the launch of the Mooinooi Incubator, in the North West province, 42 small businesses have created about 300 jobs in the Bojanala community surround- ing the Lonmin platinum mine, earning the mine this year’s Incubator of the Year award at the Shanduka Black Umbrellas (SBU) National Enterprise Development Awards.

“As one of the major mining companies with operations in the Bojanala municipality, we decided to intervene in the unemployment challenge facing the area and to [offer] a solution to the new small businesses being established,” states JSE-listed mining company Lonmin communication and public affairs executive VP Lerato Molebatsi.

Lonmin was approached by small businesses within the community that wanted to supply products and parts to the mine, explains Moleba-tsi; however, the mine could not procure from these businesses as they lacked sustainability and proper administrative and managerial plans.

“This made us to look into ways in which these businesses could be assisted to become sustainable, not only as suppliers to the mine but also through other working relationships with companies outside the community. “This was done in order to create sustainable businesses that can get business anywhere. “That is when we partnered with SBU,” she explains.

The Mooinooi Incubator, which is a partnership between Lonmin and SBU has, since its launch in 2013, looked at ways in which local small businesses can be developed to a point where they are secure enough to form part of the greater value chain within their community, says SBU CEO Seapei Mafoyane.

“So, in the past two years, we have hosted roadshows in the community and have provided training for small businesses in the areas of constructing valuable business plans, facilitating access to markets, finance and networks, as well as efficient operational management that will ensure the sustainability of their businesses,” she says.

To date, companies such as Phakwe Mining, Modi Mining, Stylish Wood, Retswelapele Construction, Are direng Transport & Labour and Ikatiseng Construction have grown out of the Mooinooi Incubator.

Proud of the success stories coming out of the incubator, Mafoyane hails the relationship and collaboration with Lonmin as the key ingredient in ensuring the success of these businesses.

“From the beginning of the project, Lonmin has been intensely involved and has provided us with the platform to engage with its commodity teams. “This has created a surge of interest in the incubator internally at Lonmin and that has garnered a lot of support for SBU,” she states.

Moreover, Mafoyane mentions that these com- modity teams, in turn, have created an incred-ible support base through mentorship support for the small businesses in the region and are encouraging an entrepreneurial ecosystem in this small mining town as small businesses become employers and create real and immediate value for the surrounding communities.

Molebatsi indicates that the motivation to Lonmin’s involvement in the project was to create wealth for its community and also to rejuvenate the economy within the community.

She notes that through this initiative, members of the community are encouraged to work harder, as they realise the benefits the mine brings.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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