Black-owned business in Lephalale gets a champion

The Lephalale Enterprise Development Centre was launched last Tuesday at an event held at the Mogol club in Lephalale. The Centre is a joint initiative of the Anglo American Sebenza Fund, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa (MHPSA), Shanduka Black Umbrellas(SBU) and Exxaro Coal, and focuses on the enterprise and supplier development of black owned businesses in the region.
The centre will enable the partners to combine their respective strengths, expertise and resources to provide assistance and support to small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in the Lephalale community that are more than 51% black-owned with SBU focu-sing on businesses that are 100% black owned.
SBU will operate an incubator providing subsidised infrastructural support, on-going mentoring and training to 100% black owned businesses. The SBU incubator within the Lephalale ED Centre is the eighth incubator which SBU now operates around the country.
MHPSA and the Sebenza Fund are providing equity finance, loans and mentorship to support start-ups or expanding businesses referred to the hub. Exxaro (Grootegeluk Mine) will provide enterprise and supplier development opportunities within its supply chain to suppliers that are more than 51% black owned.
MD of Anglo American’s enterprise development arm, Zimele, Hlonela Lupuwana who spoke at the event said “the centre is an important development for the community of Lephalale as it provides entrepreneurs and existing business owners with an opportunity to grow, prosper and most importantly, to become valuable contributors to the development of the country.”
We know that there are many people here in Le-phalale with sufficient talent to start or grow businesses that will add much needed value, create jobs and improve the standards of living. We also know that lack of skills and finance prohibits them from growth. With the new centre, the people of this area will now have access to finance, business planning, training and mentoring, as well as basic business and accounting advice. They will also get access to basic administrative facilities such as computers, internet, fax, copier, scanner and meeting facilities.  We hope that the community will take full advantage of this opportunity.”
The centre is located at Shop 34B at the Maroela Mile shopping centre, J. Louis Both Avenue.
For more information contact them at tel:
014 763 1820.