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November 2015
News
T
he newManufacturing Technol-
ogy Centre (MTC) situated in
Atlantis will open the door for
more entrepreneurs to participate
in the green economy. The City of
Cape Town’s Economic Development
Department and the Small Enterprise
Development Agency (SEDA) provided
funding, technical support and sharing
of expertise for the new centre.
Located in the heart of the Atlantis
industrial hub and occupying 15 000
m² of factory space, it is well equipped
to lend a helping hand to entrepre-
neurs to ensure the sustainability of
their businesses in the renewable
energy/energy saving sector.
The R500 000 match funding grant
provided by the City in support of
this entrepreneurial incubation pro-
grammewill contribute to the City and
Western Cape Government industrial
incentives to attract companies to
relocate to the Atlantis area. The City
has partnered with SEDA. The South
African Renewable Energy Business
Incubator (SAREBI) is a business in-
cubator funded by SEDA Technology
Programme and focuses on providing
non-financial assistance to entre-
preneurs in the renewable energy
industry.
The MTC has been set up to provide
subsidised facilities, infrastructure,
equipment support, access to tech-
nology and a link with professionals
and experts in the field, to assist the
selected companies to develop their
businesses.
“The objectives of this business
incubation development programme
is to create an enabling environment
to help entrepreneurs and attract
investment in the area. This will in
turn create economic growth and job
creation and ensure sustainability of
small andmediumenterprises (SMEs)
through the provision of resources. In
Phase One, five entrepreneurs have
already set up viable business entities.
They will receive further support by
way of mentorship and coaching that
will ensure the future sustainability
of their ventures,” said the City’s May-
oral Committee Member for Tourism,
Events and Economic Development,
Garreth Bloor.
A substantial amount of work had
to be undertaken at the MTC to cus-
tomise the work area and the incuba-
tion space to suit each SME. One of
the first businesses to relocatemoved
from Killarney Gardens to Atlantis.
Over and above office space, tele-
phone lines and internet connectivity,
they required a secure product storage
area for their materials and finished
goods, as well as welding tables and
a spray-painting facility.
In comparison, the requirements
for a LED lighting company that is
now situated at the centre differed
substantially. Working with small and
expensive components required a very
secureworkspace, which necessitated
the building of a cage around their
workshop. Due to the nature of their
operation, a stable electricity supply
was also a prerequisite. In addition,
they required support with branding
and advertising.
A luminaire manufacturer request-
ed a much larger space to be fitted
with a specialised casting room, for
curing the resins used in their lights.
Support for another start-up busi-
ness took the form of allocating a
business mentor to help with busi-
ness planning and to facilitate a loan
application process. “These examples
highlight the versatility of the services
offered by the business incubation
centre. We see this as being a crucial
component for the success and sus-
tainability of budding entrepreneurs.
Many SMEs fail due to the one-size-
fits-all solutions that are generally pro-
vided. The best return on investment
for the City is to see these businesses
grow and at the same time stimulate
further job creation,” said Bloor.
The renewable energy sector, cur-
rently in its infancy stage, requires
development support and assistance
specifically for small and medium
enterprises who wish to enter the
sector. The South African Renewable
Energy Business Incubator (SAREBI)
was set up to help start-up businesses
in this sector.
“One of the aims of SAREBI was for
the entrepreneurs to stimulate job
creation in Atlantis and surrounding
areas. New jobs were created for the
local community within the first six
months of the project. This is a step in
the right direction and we are pleased
that these up and coming entrepre-
neurs have risen to the challenge,”
concludes Bloor.
■
Atlantis opens doors
for entrepreneurs