Q & A: MAKERS LANDING packaged food; we focus on aspects from food and health safety to financial literacy and marketing. Everything is geared towards real-world application. Beyond skills, we build resilience, confidence and community. Entrepreneurs are learning alongside each other, sharing knowledge and building networks that extend beyond the space. These are all components we believe are integral to the survival and thriving of small businesses.
Can you share examples of partnerships that have helped small businesses grow and scale? Partnerships are central to how we operate. We collaborate with chefs, corporates and food hospitality industry bodies to develop and unlock opportunities for our entrepreneurs. For example, partnerships with established chefs and brands create mentorship pipelines and provide exposure to new markets. Our collaborations with hospitality groups around the Waterfront, such as Newmark Hotels Africa, open doors for product development and placement. We’ ve recently partnered with the Department of Agriculture to assist our businesses with food testing for accurate nutritional labelling and compliance. This partnership addresses a key challenge many small F & B businesses face with regard to being market-ready for retailers and larger buyers. We’ ve also worked with organisations focused on enterprise development, such as SA Chef Media, Property Point and Wakanda Food Accelerator, to name a few, to provide structured growth programmes. Our partnership with Heavy Chefs allows us to host monthly Learning Lunches with thought leaders curated for our SMMEs. These partnerships don’ t just support individual businesses, they strengthen the entire ecosystem.
How do you measure the success of start-ups within Makers Landing’ s ecosystem? Success is multi-dimensional. Of course we look at revenue growth, job creation, and business longevity. But we also measure confidence, capability( this encompasses growth and refinement in production), and progression.
If an entrepreneur moves from informal trading into a formalised business, that’ s success. If they create jobs within their community, that’ s impact. If they gain the skills to access new markets or expand into retail or catering or experiential businesses, that’ s growth. Ultimately, success is about building businesses that can stand independently and continue to thrive beyond Makers Landing.
What’ s the vision behind reimagining industrial spaces for economic growth? Spaces hold power. When you reimagine an industrial space as a place of creativity, connection, and opportunity, you unlock entirely new forms of economic participation.
Makers Landing is about transforming underutilised infrastructure into an active, inclusive economy. It’ s about bringing people into spaces they may never have seen themselves in, and giving them the tools to belong and succeed there.
How does transforming these spaces create new opportunities for jobs and business development? By lowering the barriers to entry, we allow more people to participate in the economy. Shared infrastructure reduces startup costs, while access to foot traffic and markets accelerates growth.
As businesses grow, they create jobs, whether in kitchens, logistics, or supply chains. There’ s also a ripple effect: suppliers, producers, and service providers all benefit. It becomes more than a space; it becomes a microeconomy that feeds into the broader city and at times, even the country.
What are the lessons from Makers Landing that other sectors or regions could apply to support startups and local economies? One of the biggest lessons is the power of ecosystem thinking. Startups don’ t succeed in isolation, they need access to meaningful support, infrastructure, networks, and opportunity. Secondly, practical experience matters. Create environments where entrepreneurs can test and trade, not just learn theoretically. And finally, lead with inclusivity. When you intentionally design for those on the margins, you unlock innovation, resilience, and diversity, all of which strengthen the entire economy. We believe there is nothing small about small businesses at the V & A Waterfront.
To reach out to Makers Landing email events @ makerslanding. co. za �
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