SMES
Call for funders to
consider Western
Cape Funding Fair
The inaugural Western Cape Funding Fair, set to take place in March
2015, is expected to bring together funders and entrepreneurs, attracting
a significant amount of funding for economic growth and adding to the
success of previous funding fairs held in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
T
he Western Cape Funding
Fair, hosted by the Western
Cape Department of
Economic Development
and Tourism and Deloitte, is
more than just about funding
businesses or projects, asserts André Pottas,
Corporate Finance Partner at Deloitte.“It is
about supporting livelihoods,” he says.
Pottas says the aim of the Funding Fair,
which follows the success of similar events in
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, is to become
“an intrinsic part of the fabric of business in
the Western Cape and a platform from which
a number of significant business ventures
can secure the necessary funding needed to
support job creation and growth”.
The Western Cape Funding Fair aims
to kick-start business initiatives across the
province, and provide impetus for job creation
in both urban and rural areas by facilitating
face-to-face contact between project
promoters, entrepreneurs and various funding
institutions. Targeted business sectors include,
but are not limited to, ICT, clothing, the
green economy, agro-processing, oil and gas,
tourism, aquaculture, metals and engineering,
as well as business process outsourcing.
“Deloitte Western Cape recognises
the important role that SMEs play in our
economy and are proud to partner with
government to provide a unique platform for
funders to connect with business owners and
stimulate economic growth in the Western
Cape region,” says Marius Alberts, Deloitte
Western Cape Regional Leader.
Venture capital, private equity, grant
funders, commercial banks and development
From left: Marius Alberts, Deloitte Western Cape regional leader, Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities,
and André Pottas, Corporate Finance Partner at Deloitte, at the official launch of the Western Cape Funding Fair.
finance institutions are just some of the type
of funders the event is hoping to attract.
“A total of R360 million was secured for
SMMEs as a result of the 2013/2014 KZN
Funding Fair,” Pottas says. “Funders do not
usually get to sit for a day and hear about
40 or 50 projects, so the fair speeds up their
usual process and provides them with the
opportunity to be exposed to a number of
projects from different industries in a short
space of time.”
An example of how funding boosted a
fledgling business is Just Veggies, a fresh and
frozen vegetable processing plant in northern
KwaZulu-Natal. As a result of an introduction
by Deloitte to the Public Investment
Corporation, the company’s co-founders,
Lex Campbell and Dick Muir, were able to
obtain R80 million in funding to revitalise
the dormant factory. The business is now
thriving, providing jobs to approximately 100
people and 450 jobs indirectly through the
surrounding farms who supply to the factory.
The Western Cape Funding Fair is aimed
at businesses or projects based in the
province seeking a minimum of R10 million
in funding. A preparation workshop will
be held in early March once all entries have
been shortlisted in February, with the actual
Western Cape Funding Fair taking place on
18 March 2015 at the Cape Town
International Convention Centre. On the day
of the event, funders will be able to exhibit
and promote their business products, while
also listening to the business pitches of the top
qualifying entrepreneurs. Follow-up meetings
between projects and funders will be held
after the Fair at Deloitte’s Cape Town offices.
More information is available at
www.westerncapefundingfair.co.za.
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