The Hope Factory celebrated the official close to their first pilot Small Business support programme together with sponsoring strategic SETA partner, The Chemical Industries Education & Training Authority (CHIETA). The CHIETA Small Business Support programme, was a 12-month business and finance development programme targeting the Chemical industry. The programme closed with 30 graduate Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) based in Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City Municipality, Eastern Cape.
The Hope Factory is part of the Learning and Development Division of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and is passionate about empowering Start-ups and micro-businesses at a community level. This programme focussed on individual and business development that contributes to improving the living conditions of the business owner and their family and driving local economic growth at a community and industry level. The aim was to assist these SMMEs to access new market opportunities to grow their business in the Chemical Industry.
Rajen Naidoo, KZN and Eastern Cape Reginal Manager at CHIETA comments, āAs CHIETA, our purpose is to develop the Chemical sector through training and development. We see the development of entrepreneurs and small businesses as key for the South African Economy thus we are very proud to be in partnership with The Hope Factory. To the graduates, congratulations, today is not the end but the beginning. To earn a living by starting out small is an example of success, look at your impact and successes thus far and let it motivate you to where you can be someday.ā
Two graduation events were held last week, the first in East London on Wednesday 7 December, hosted by Hemingways Casino. And the second event held at Tramways Building in Gqeberha on Friday 9 December. Special thank you to Hemingways Casino for their support and contributions throughout the duration of the programme and hosting the event at The Venue, Hemingways Casino.
Brendon Barnes, programme graduate, and special award winner shares a few words, āWhen I started on this programme I thought I knew how things in business worked and how to manage it, but this programme empowered me to not only manage my business better but also how to navigate the tough seasons of running a business. There is something special that happens when people come together to impart their knowledge to others to try better their businesses. This programme brought in specialists and industry experts that assisted me powerfully to get what I needed in order. Thank you to everyone who made this programme a success.ā
Some notable impact post-programme includes:
- 28 of the surveyed businesses have indicated that their knowledge of the chemical industry has improved due to the programme
- 28 of the surveyed businesses post programme have indicated that their ability to keep financial records improved because of the programme
- 28 of the surveyed businesses indicated that their business operations have improved because of the programme
- 11 additional businesses post-programme are now running an active budget
- 10 additional businesses post-programme now have written business plans in place
- 23 additional businesses post-programme are now keeping record of stock in their business
In closing, The Hope Factory looks forward to continuing their partnership with CHIETA into 2023 with a second project that will look at taking a selective few of the graduates to the next level of business growth and development.
āThree elements of hope for our graduates are: one, know where you want to go and set goals, two, the ability to stand up and move on from disappointment in order to achieve your goals and three, believing in yourself. My hope is that through this programme those three elements are three focal areas that we have been able to impart to each one of you. Furthermore, I would like to thank CHIETA for their meaningful partnership with us and look forward to what is to come next year,ā says Annie McWalter, CEO at The Hope Factory.
