Question NW3500 to the Minister of Small Business Development

Reply:

a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) through its entity, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) provides business development support to SMMEs and Co-operatives with Information & Business Advice, Business Plans, Mentoring and Training etc.

b) With limited resources, Seda has over the past five financial years provided the following skills development programmes for SMMEs and Co-operatives as per table below:

TRAININGS	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	Total
Start Up 1	R1,014,111	R438,178	R566,617	R903,389	R774,003	R3,696,298
Small business Start Up	R150,844	R157,365	R409,954	R440,347	R497,540	R1,656,050
Basic Business Skills	R2,363,054	R2,610,713	R1,216,157	R1,224,240	R1,070,592	R8,484,756
Other Training	R20,011,593	R7,270,968	R1,435,190	R1,879,117	R2,631,256	R33,228,124
Co-Op Training	R203,920	R269,310	R384,764	R130,220	R380,542	R1,368,756
Total	R23,743,522	R10,746,534	R4,012,682	R4,577,313	R5,353,933	R48,433,984

“Other training” in table above includes amongst others: Productivity improvement, Capacity Building training, Customer Service training, Labour Employer training, financial wellness and sector specific training which was introduced in 2021/22 FY.

Seda through its Learning Academy has developed different training programmes. These programmes are credit bearing and accredited by the Services Seta. Quality training aims to assist organisations of all types to implement and operate the Quality Management System (QMS) to increase effectiveness, consistency and customer satisfaction, explain the benefits of implementing QMS and understand the quality, management principles. Whilst food safety introduces Food Safety, Understand Pre-Requisite programme, Hazard Analysis, Critical, Control, Point system (HACCP) and HACCP principles and Implementing a Food Safety Management System (SANS 22000:2019.).

The table below provides Seda’s spent for the past five financial years:

Quality Training and Food Safety	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	Total
	R10,140,769	R7,107,300	R5,337,100	R4,706,400	R5,660,400	R38,612,369

Seda also has an Export Orientation Course (EOC) which focuses on Export Development. These courses focus on the business with the aim of helping the business assess its export readiness. The trainings target SMMEs that have the intention and the potential to enter the export business or those already involved in exports but wanted to strengthen their knowledge in this field of business. Seda has over the past five financial years provided Export Orientation courses for SMMEs and Co-operatives as per table below:

Export Development - Export Orientation courses	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	Total
	R730,000	R291,845	R150,000	R380,000	R220,000	R1,771,845

Furthermore, Seda has an Entrepreneurship in Schools Programme that encourages learners to consider entrepreneurship as an alternative career to employment. The main objective of the programme is:

1. To influence the mind set of learners by encouraging them to become job creators instead of job seekers once they leave the schooling system.
2. To equip learners with entrepreneurial knowledge and skills needed to start and manage their businesses; and
3. To improve entrepreneurial activity amongst the learners and educators.

The table below provides Seda’s spent for the past five financial years:

Entrepreneurship in schools	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	Total
	R3,260,000	R1,893,242	R2,072,671	R2,060,364	R2,103,817	R11,390,093

Seda is also in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development’s (UNCTAD) Division of Investment and Enterprise United Nation’s Empretec training Programme. The following are details about the programme:

1. Empretec is a 6 Day programme aimed based on a unique Harvard University methodology focusing on behavioural approach to entrepreneurship.
2. The programme is interactive, experience and self-assessment based and takes 25-30 participants per workshop. Participants learn by doing.
3. Participants on this programme receive an UNCTAD endorsed certificate.
4. Programme develops Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) such as Opportunity Seeking, Persistence, Goal setting, risk taking, fulfilling commitments, planning etc. for participants.

The table below provides Seda’s spent for the past five financial years:

Empretec	2021/22	2020/21	2019/20	2018/19	2017/18	Total
	R1,050,000.00	R1,155,000.00	R1080000	R1710000	R810000	R5,805,000.00

Seda also has a dedicated programme, The Basic Entrepreneurship Skills Development (BESD) which was jointly developed by Seda and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) since 2012. GIZ left the programme in December 2016. The programme is funded by the National Skills Fund for an amount of R84 million. The BESD approach utilises coaching as an innovative methodology to facilitate and reinforce learning and development support to emerging entrepreneurs. A total of 260 undergraduates and 1998 Emerging Entrepreneurs successfully completed the training initiative.

STELLA NDABENI-ABRAHAMS

MINISTER: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT