Unlocking opportunities for all players, big and small

Limpopo government and big business should do more to support small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) if the province is to increase its share of the national economic pie. These are some of the sentiments that were expressed at the Mail & Guardian Critical Thinking Forum, which formed part of the Limpopo Economic Summit held recently at the Ranch Resort in Polokwane.

The panel comprised independent political analyst Ralph Mathekga, Ben Mphahlele, managing director of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (Leda), Ashley Rasebotsa of the Polokwane Business Chamber and Levi Mashiane, acting chief director of the department of agriculture and rural development. The forum was facilitated by radio personality Thabiso Kotane.

Mphahlele pointed out that although Limpopo contributes about 7% to the South African econ- omy. The average rate of its contribution to GDP over 19 years is the highest in the country. He pointed out that Limpopo achieved this through growing its key industries, most notably mining. The challenge now is to further diversify the economy.

Mathekga noted that government is mainly responsible for creating an environment that allows private sector participants to invest in order to create jobs. The private sector requires an expanding market so it can extend opportunities to small businesses.

An area of concern that was raised was the availability of information for small businesses as well as sector opportunities. Rasebotsa pointed out that over the past few years, government has improved its information sharing, but that there was still room for improvement.

Kotane challenged the capacity of institutions such as Leda to offer assistance to small businesses, arguing that they are staffed by bureaucrats who have never actually run businesses. But Mphahlele rejected the notion, pointing out that professional staff members in development finance institutions are suitably qualified in areas such as accounting and finance to assess the viability of businesses. The challenge they face is the resources they have at hand to offer support.

The Industrial Development Corporation and the National Empowerment Fund offer financial and non-financial support to SMMEs including advice, referral The panel at the Limpopo Economic Summit’s Critical Thinking Forum: Ralph Mathekga, Ben Mphahlele, Thabiso Kotane, Ashley Rasebotsa and Levi Mashiane.

to incubator services where they are available, and mentorship if required.

Mashiane pointed out that government sees agriculture and agro-processing as a rich source of opportunity to help SMMEs grow. The department is currently challenged by drought as well as helping farmers adapt to climate change.

One other area that was raised was the need to improve skills levels in farming in order to improve the agro-processing value chain. Mpahlele reminded the audience that Africans were good farmers in the late 19th century, until they were dispossessed through the 1913 Land Act in order to supply their labour to the mines.

An audience member in a mining community pointed out that large mining companies simply bypass entrepreneurs in the community — even when they are registered — and urged companies to help build the capacity of small businesses in order to qualify as suppliers. One tool that corporates can use to achieve this is enterprise