As part of the City’s Smart Supplier Programme, approximately 150 small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMME) pitched their services to prospective buyers during ‘match-up’ sessions this week.
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The sessions follow a series of workshops that teach SMMEs how to deal with the day-to-day challenges of trying to enter new markets and business opportunities.
This year marks the eighth edition of the programme, which is funded by the City and managed by Smart Procurement World. The 2024 programme takes a targeted approach to buyer-seller relationships, aiming to connect small businesses with clients from across the province, country and continent over an eight-month period.
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‘This year, we are taking the Smart Supplier Programme to a whole new level. I am really excited to see the SMMEs not only put everything they’ve learned to the test just a few weeks into the course, but to see that tangible gains are already coming to fruition for them through this project. Since its inception in 2016, 1 800 buyer opportunities have been created for the programme’s 140 finalists, resulting in an estimated R20 million in business opportunities. The opportunities this year promise to be bigger than ever!’ said James Vos, the City’s mayoral committee member for economic growth,.
In the match-up sessions, the programme’s SMME participants meet with prospective clients from both private and public sectors. There will be four match-up sessions, each focusing on clients from a different industry. During the first session, SMMEs met with buyers from the aviation, construction, energy, and mining industries.
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‘The Smart Supplier Programme, like others offered by our Business Hub, are continuously honed to meet the developmental needs of SMMEs that need to grow in an ever-changing economic environment. These growing businesses are at the heart of job creation so when we give them the right knowledge and networking tools, not only are they better equipped to keep their doors open, but they can expand and employ more people. This is why Cape Town is at the centre of economic growth and opportunity in South Africa,’ said Vos.
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City is funding SMMEs through its Productivity Efficiency Programme
Picture: City of Cape Town