This week, the City announced details for a pilot project to expand its Business Hub operational network to communities across the metro.
The Business Hub opened its office in Cape Town CBD in 2019 and since then has assisted thousands of small businesses, traders, and aspiring entrepreneurs with queries and skills development workshops.
‘There has never been a more important time to give Cape Town’s small businesses and budding entrepreneurs the support they need to innovate and create further job opportunities for others,’ said Alderman James Vos, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.
The pilot project will see unemployed graduates trained as business advisors who will then service the satellite hubs in Plumstead and Strand. The graduates were recruited via the City’s Job Seekers Database under the Expanded Public Works Programme. The trainees join several other recruits from the EPWP who are working at the Business Hub.
‘Empowering unemployed people with a foot in the door of the business world is exactly the kind of initiative that the EPWP is all about. These graduates, who often struggle to find work because they don’t have experience, will get the training they need that will take their careers to the next level,’ said Alderman Grant Twigg, the Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management.
One of the trainees, Tasneem Abdullah said she has learned a great deal while working at the Business Hub. ‘Every day I go home from work and I tell my family that they can open their own businesses,’ said Abdullah.
Another, Liseka Jimlongo, said that with the Business Hub, she has been able to assist business owners in areas such as Scottsdene and Delft. ‘Being here has taught me a lot and it’s boosted my confidence because I’m learning so much,’ said Jimlongo.
With the ability to extend the Business Hub’s services to areas outside of the Cape Town CBD, the City will further help enterprises in those areas rather than having them come to the helpdesk’s main office.
‘By bringing City services to their doorstep, residents save time and money that they would have used on transport. The Corporate Services Directorate aims to ensure that the City of Cape Town is customer-centric and that we serve our residents in an efficient and professional manner. I want to encourage Capetonians to make use of this opportunity,’ said Alderman Theresa Uys, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services.
The City is also able to take the Business Hub to communities across the metro through its mobile office.
‘The City government’s provision of services such as the Business Hub is why Cape Town stands apart as a metro that has laid a strong foundation for enterprise development. According to the Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence African Tech Ecosystems of the Future 2021 index, Cape Town was ranked the second best city on the continent for foreign direct investment strategy because it displayed impressive initiative in creating the necessary infrastructure for a thriving tech ecosystem.
‘The City’s mission is to get us to the number one ranking on that index and continuously find ways to make life easier for businesses, giving them the freedom to create new services and products, and employ more people,’ said Alderman Vos.
To find out when the mobile Business Hub will be in your area and to sign up for one of the development programmes, go to https://www.investcapetown.com/news-events/business-events/. For data-free access to the virtual sessions, attendees can use the SmartCape services in public libraries or go to one of the 100 City-run buildings in the metro with free Wi-Fi access. Find out more here: https://www.capetown.gov.za/local%20and%20communities/get-online/Public-Wifi-Zones/public-wifi-across-the-city
Contact The Business Hub team on business.support@capetown.gov.za or +27 21 417 4043 with your business-related queries.
To register on the City’s Expanded Public Works Programme, visit https://www.capetown.gov.za/work%20and%20business/jobs-and-skills-development/youth-careers/find-an-opportunity-with-epwp for more information.