City brings entrepreneurs and funders under one roof
17 November 2016
Johannesburg entrepreneurs came face to face with the funding community when, for the first time, the City hosted FundEx, a one-day annual conference and exhibition showcasing a wide spectrum of funders and investment providers.
The event, held at the Riversands Incubation Hub on Wednesday November 16, also gave the City’s Department of Economic Development the opportunity to showcase the Jozi SME Hub, a City of Johannesburg initiative aimed at empowering entrepreneurs and individuals starting or running their own businesses.
The hub provides a variety of services such as training workshops on planning, financial literacy, marketing, taxation and funding. The lack of funding has always been cited by entrepreneurs as one of the biggest impediments to starting and growing sustainable enterprises. The annual conference and exhibition draws together the widest spectrum of commercial, government and non-traditional funders, as well as providers of easily accessible investment opportunities with advice from credible personal finance experts.
It also focuses on the most common mistakes that many small companies make when they try to access funding.
Sue Reddy, Public Relations Manager of the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Economic Development, said the City was pleased when the FundEx team asked it to host the conference and exhibition.
“This was a great opportunity for us to create more visibility for the Jozi SME Hub,” she said.
The hub, with walk-in centres in downtown Johannesburg, Soweto, Alexandra, Poortjie and Diepsloot, has experienced rapid growth in recent times.
“But many people are only familiar with the Marshalltown walk-in centre and the one at the Soweto Empowerment Zone in Dieploof,” said Reddy.
This year’s exhibitors included the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), Nedbank, FinFind, Sphere Investment Holdings, MoneyWeb, Alexander Forbes and Trust for Urban Housing Finance. Setlakalane Molepo, NEF’s Divisional Executive for SME and Rural and Community Development, said SMMEs needed funding so they could play a role in the economy.
“It’s crucial to look at challenges that are facing SMEs and hindering their growth. That’s why it’s important for us to partner with the likes of the Riversands Incubation Hub. This enables us to give support to small and medium enterprises and hold free workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Molepo.
He said people also needed to understand that the NEF provided funding to businesses and not grants. “That means the money that is given to investees is expected to be paid back,” he said.