BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– The MTN Foundation has ploughed almost E1 million on entrepreneurs running different businesses.
This is made possible through a five-year-old partnership between the Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) and MTN Foundation.
The entrepreneurs are reached through the Cija Ngebhizinisi initiative, a radio programme sponsored by MTN.
Through this programme the MTN has managed to achieve maximum reach, ensuring inclusion of marginalized groups who have all along been excluded by the language barrier as English is normally used during most of the workshops.
Over the years the Foundation has empowered 20 entrepreneurs with working capital amounting to E250 000; 100 entrepreneurs with training and others with material support.
The latest winners of a seed capital of E10 000 per person were Funeka Mdluli, Maxwell Mkhatshwa, Sandile Siphepho, Nokulunga Sibeko and Siphiwe Simelane.
They are dealing in raw honey, maize farming, graphic designing, vegetables, animal feeds supplies, poultry and piggery.
The young business people have not only provided goods and services to people, but they have also created job opportunities for the various people they have employed.
During presentation of the seed capital at the SEDCO offices, SEDCO CEO Khethiwe Mhlanga said the training offered through the funding was addressing the gaping problem of entrepreneurial illiteracy that the country was facing.
“This is according to a FinScope survey, which discovered that out of 59 000 SME owners in the country, only 11 per cent reported to have attended formal training in business management,” she said.
Mhlanga said such statistics emphasized the need for development projects like Cija Ngebhizinisi.
She was hopeful that the skills acquired by the entrepreneurs would enhance their capacity to effectively manage their enterprises, improve profitability and ensure sustainability. The winners were selected through a contest adjudicated by Phumelele Motsa of Velekhaya Investments and Machawe Thwala from EDNICS.
