Small business owners in Nelson Mandela Bay should not focus only on tenders but diversify their operations and work with corporates.
This was among the messages shared by successful entrepreneurs at the micro, small and medium enterprise summit hosted by the municipality at the city’s stadium on Tuesday.
It was the second annual summit held in the city to discuss a variety of topics including supplier development, financial support, mentoring, SMME development and opportunities.
Among those in attendance was experienced businesswoman Violet Lupuwana, founder and managing director of Chumile Holdings.
Lupuwana said she was an industrial engineer but left her career in 2014 to focus on her small business — starting with a taxi — and now has a multimillion-rand empire in transport services, among other things.
“Don’t open a business because you want a tender.
“Take yourself seriously. You must invest in yourself first.
“When not getting tenders, people believe the government is failing them,” Lupuwana said.
She advised entrepreneurs to take advantage of government programmes including seminars and exhibitions to upskill themselves.
“Empower yourself with knowledge — 17 years later I’m still in business. Build a brand.
“During Covid-19, that’s when my company made a lot money.”
She said small businesses should also look for collaboration with corporates.
“You need to have guts to fight for what you believe in. I made a decision to work with corporates.
“You need to diversify ... cashflow is key.
“Most of us get discouraged because of failure. We need to take risks.”
Exclusive Hospitality Concepts owner Francine Zana, who runs an award-winning hospitality business, echoed Lupuwana’s sentiment on tenders.
Zana said she started her business after she dropped out of college.
She then worked as a housekeeper at a guesthouse in Bluewater Bay where she was allocated a room outside the main house.
She survived on bread with margarine and this motivated her to start a business in 2020, but it only started making a profit after eight years.
“I don’t know the tendering process. Go and network as a business owner. It doesn’t matter if you are selling vegetables.”
Delivering his keynote address, Bay economic development, tourism and agriculture political head Bassie Kamana said he had been a street trader and stopped when he joined the metro.
He said he understood the challenges faced by those in the informal economy.
“It’s tough being a trader. It’s a dog-eat-dog business,” Kamana said.
He said he was impressed that a lot of women attended the summit.
Kamana said the metro was at a defining moment that required decisions to be made to facilitate economic development, renewal, innovation and to deal with unemployment.
“We are at a crossroads and now [this] depends on the decisions we take.
“The decisions [taken at the summit] should not be academic but a call to action.
“A city is built by confidence [which is showed] by choosing to establish businesses here.
“No municipality can rebuild the city alone. Collective success depends on our collective efforts, with this summit being a launching pad for implementation.”
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