Business support and skills development support are aimed at addressing small business needs such as access to information and opportunities, business services and business skills development.

Some of the ways in which the Branch contributes are through the City’s Business Support Voucher programme, support for the Business Place Ikapa advisory centre, Small Business Week and Community Information events. The Branch is also involved in the development of strategies and guidelines such as the Business Support Policy and the coordination of the Business Support Facilities Management Guidelines Framework (PDF, 135kb)

The Business Support Voucher Programme (BSVP)

The City’s Business Support Voucher programme offers support services to people who have started new businesses (known as ‘start-ups’), or people who run what is known as a ‘survivalist’ business – a business that consists of the business owner only or established emerging businesses. People who qualify for the BSVP programme must be:

• over the age of 35
• be a South African citizen and
• live or permanently reside in the City of Cape Town’s jurisdiction
• a potential entrepreneur, who demonstrates commitment to starting his/her own business,
• an existing business with potential for job creation and growth, or
• a start-up entrepreneur, whose project proposal, could attract subcontracts, government procurement and joint ventures.
  
  

The support services include training in mentoring business skills, management and financial skills or relevant technical training. The City itself does not provide the training, but gives beneficiaries vouchers that they can exchange at professional and accredited business training providers. Entrepreneurs who access the training vouchers are monitored by RED (Real Enterprise Development) Door centres, in order to evaluate the success of the programme.

How to apply for a Business Support Voucher

Business Support Vouchers are available through RED (Real Enterprise Development) Door centres in Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Atlantis, Retreat and Table View and through the Business Place eKapa in the city centre.

For more information about The Business Place eKapa, visit the website or the offices:

1st floor
7 Anton Anrieth Arcade
Cape Town
8001 
Tel: 021 425 7816
E-mail: ekapa@thebusinessplace.co.za

For more information about the RED Door initiative and its services and programmes, please visit the Western Cape Province provincial government website.

The Business Support Voucher Programme brochure is available in English, Afrikaans or Xhosa.


Small Business Week

Small businesses comprise the bulk of business in the Western Cape. The annual Small Business Week (a City of Cape Town initiative, supported by the Provincial Government of the Western Cape) is a 3 day event that facilitates access to markets, finance and business opportunities, skills development workshops and business linkages, through business opportunity exhibitions, business linkages programmes, seminars, workshops and networking events. Entry is free.

To date the City of Cape Town has hosted seven annual Small Business Weeks (SBW). Anyone who owns, manages or is interested in business is welcome to attend this event. No business is too small to benefit. The results of the SBW 2008 survey suggest that the event gained further momentum in 2008, with attendance figures up from 7 690 in 2007 to over 9000 in 2008 with 2127 participants in the Skills Indaba and 143 exhibitors.

The survey showed that most business owners attended the event because they wanted access to information about business (52%), tenders (21%) or access to finance (both 19%), skills development (27%) and franchise opportunities (11%).

59% of businesses attending were classified small, 28% of businesses were medium and 13% micro.

For more information about Small Business Week, please visit www.smallbusinessweek.co.za.


EHD programmes featured in the Big News publication

Link for all the pages placed on the big new over the past year

Business Surveys

- Doing Business 2009
- 2008 BEE Survey

Smart City Strategy

Only - Link to the City’s Smart City Strategy