The Small Enterprise Development Agency is an agency of the Department of Small Business Development that is mandated to implement the government’s small business strategy; design and implement a standard and common national delivery network for small enterprise development, and integrate government-funded small enterprise support agencies across all tiers of government.
Their mission is to develop, support, and promote small enterprises throughout the country, ensuring their growth and sustainability in coordination and partnership with various role players, including global partners, who make international best practices available to local entrepreneurs.
“We have established a number of support programmes aiming to develop local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and become competitive. We provide financial and non-financial support to enterprises that comply with our list of requirements. We are currently on a roadshow to educate the business community of Ekurhuleni about SEDA and what it offers for their business enterprises, said Simon Shiya from the Department of Small Business Development.
“Our support programme aims to formalise informal businesses to micro-enterprises; facilitate the banking of the unbanked; realize the potential for spaza shops to serve as a market for locally manufactured goods; through the inclusion of products manufactured by SMME.
“We want to facilitate support programmes that will make spaza shops profitable and successful and make them an intermediary step to the formal economy.
“Our programme also supports bakeries and confectioneries; motor mechanics and spray painters; clothing, leather, and textile; butcheries; shisanyama and cooked food; fruit and vegetables, and personal care services.
For more information go to www.dsbd.gov.za or www.sefa.org.za or www.seda.org.za. Seda was established in December 2004, through the National Small Business Amendment Act, Act 29 of 2004.
