Tshwane, Gauteng – 7 May 2025 – Government, funders, and industry giants joined forces in Tshwane, moving beyond discussions to identifying concrete strategies for integrating township small businesses into vital supply chains and future-focused sectors.
“These (small, medium and micro) enterprises are the lifeblood of our economy, the backbone of local employment, and the heartbeat of township revitalisation,” the City of Tshwane’s Executive Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya told the 2025 Tshwane SMME Symposium, held at the Innovation Hub on 6 May 2025,
The symposium focused on how all the economic sector players can support, strengthen, and boost local small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
Hosted by the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (TEDA), in partnership with the Innovation Hub and the South African Electrotechnical Export Council, the biennial symposium explores topics crucial to SMME development, including access to funds, access to markets, and access to relevant skills training.
Besides helping the individual businesses, such efforts play a significant role in uplifting the township economies and fostering inclusive economic growth.
The symposium provided a much-needed opportunity for SMMEs to interact with key stakeholders, including government agencies, funding institutions, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and multinational organisations.
In addition to several speeches, the symposium hosted several panels exploring elements of the SMME economic terrain.
Opening the symposium, TEDA board chairperson Kennedy Maimela quoted Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality”, in calling for all the stakeholders to demonstrate economic inclusion.
The City’s Executive Mayor delivered a powerful address emphasising the critical role of SMMEs in accelerated job creation.
“SMMEs are the most dynamic and flexible vehicle to start expanding participation of our people in the economy. They are often the first to create new jobs, particularly in our townships and informal settlements,” Dr Moya noted.
“In a world where large corporations are downsizing, and automation is reshaping employment, it is the small businesses: the barbers, the bakers, the coders, the spaza owners and the artisans who will shape the future of our employment trajectory for the better,” Dr Moya said.
She underscored the City’s commitment to building ecosystems, policies, partnerships, and infrastructure
to support entrepreneurs.
The City, through its help centres, has:
- Supported 761 SMMEs, helping them navigate registration, compliance, and market access;
- Assisted 160 co-operatives, enabling collective entrepreneurship and skills development;
- Supported 399 youth-owned enterprises, helping the next generation of entrepreneurs rise; and
- Processed nearly 5 000 applications for spaza shops, of which 1 000 have been licensed to operate
formally and sustainably.
“These are not just numbers but demonstrate the lives changed, families supported, and communities empowered,” Dr Moya added.
A key role player in the event was Standard Bank, whose senior manager of Enterprise and Supplier Development, Nokhanyo Ntshilinga, highlighted the bank’s commitment to helping SMMEs integrate into supply chains and overcome hurdles in accessing finance, skills, and resources.
A significant moment during the symposium was the powerful address by Fezile Dhlamini, owner of Green Scooter, a small business that designs, assembles, develops, manufactures, and sells high-performance fully electric vehicles.
Dhlamini spoke passionately about the need for tangible government partnerships that translate into real impact through procurement and action, rather than mere discussions. He highlighted the potential of the Public Procurement Act of 2024 to empower SMMEs.
During a discussion on the roadmap for South African SMMEs to participate in future economies, with a focus on the green economy, technological innovations, and the automotive and electronic sectors, each panellist offered pragmatic solutions to challenges faced by SMMEs.
TEDA CEO, Dr Lardo Stander, emphasised the importance of defining the integration of SMMEs into value chains to build black industrialists and acknowledged that current policy approaches often inadvertently hinder SMME success.
The CEO of the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone, Dr Bheka Zulu stressed the necessity of forming partnerships to understand the needs of SMMEs and facilitate market access.
“It’s important to have partners to work with. Let’s form partnerships, to understand needs and pleads of SMME’s, we are not here to say things that sound good we want to partner with you. It is easier to open market access if we partner together,” he stated.
Adding to the discussion, Mamiki Matlawa, the Group Business Development Executive at ACTOM – a company that has marked 120 years in the South African economic landscape, explored critical issues and opportunities for SMME development. She highlighted the untapped opportunities in research and development, and the need for policies that integrate SMMEs into the industrial value chain.
The 2025 SMME Symposium underscored the pivotal role of SMMEs in building future industries within the township economy and facilitated crucial connections and discussions aimed at fostering their growth and sustainability.