ABOUT US

WHO ARE WE?

Seda was established in December 2004 as an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry, the dti. The establishment was done by merging three organisations; Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency, National Manufacturing Advisory Centre (NAMAC) and the Community Public Private Partnership Programme (CPPP). The GODISA Trust and the Technology Programmes were integrated into seda in April 2006, becoming Seda Technology Programme (Stp).

Seda provides business development and support services for small enterprises through its national network in partnership with other role players in the small enterprise support. Seda also implements programmes targeted to business development in areas prioritised by the Government.

DSBD MINISTRY

On the 25th May 2014 during the new National Executives speech, President Jacob Zuma announced the formation of the new Small Business Development Ministry.

The mandate of the department is to lead an integrated approach to the promotion and development of Small Businesses and Co-operatives through a focus on the economic and legislative drivers that stimulate entrepreneurship to contribute to radical economic transformation.

Gauteng is the smallest Province in South and it is bordered by the Free State, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. While being the smallest province, it is also the most populous, being home to 12 272 263 people. Its capital is Johannesburg and it also contains the city of Pretoria, as well as the East Rand, West Rand and Vaal areas.

Gauteng continues to serve as the economic engine of the country and is responsible for over 34.8% of the country’s GDP. Gauteng is the powerhouse of South Africa and the heart of its commercial business and industrial sectors. The most important sectors contributing to GDP are finance, real estate and business services; manufacturing; and general government services. Gauteng is also the financial services capital of Africa due to more than 70 foreign banks having their head offices in the Province as well as South African banks, stockbrokers and insurance giants.

The major gold and diamond mining houses all have their headquarters in Johannesburg, the biggest being Anglo American and De Beers. Gold mining constitutes 80% of Gauteng’s mineral production output. The Province is divided into three metropolitan municipalities, the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipalities, as well as two district municipalities, which are further subdivided into seven local municipalities.

SERVICES

SEDA TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME

On 1 April 2006, the dti created the Seda Technology Programme as a special ring-fenced programme of the dti, housed within the Small Enterprise Development Agency at the dti campus in Meintjies Street, Sunnyside.

Stp was created as part of government’s national strategy of consolidating and rationalizing small enterprises support interventions across the different government departments and government agencies, within the overall objective of improving the delivery of small business support services to entrepreneurs and small enterprises.

As part of this process, the dti decided to incorporate the activities of GODISA; the three dti incubators; the National Technology Transfer Centre (NTTC); the Technology Advisory Centre (TAC); the technology transfer activities of the Technology for Woman in Business Programme and the SMME support activities of the South African Quality Institute (SAQI) into a single Programme, called the Seda Technology Programme commonly known as Stp.

In response to the dti’s National Industrial Policy Framework and the focus areas of the previous 4 entities, Stp will:

• Increase the accessibility to, and utility of, technologies and management support for small enterprises, through structured platforms such as technology business centres
• Facilitate the acquisition and transfer of technology to small enterprises, particularly those operating in the second economy
• Promote the use of quality and standards by small enterprises
• Improve small enterprise performance and productivity
• Improve the competitiveness of small enterprises
• Promote entrepreneurial activity and success of identified target groups, in particular, women and youth
• And more importantly reduce the failure rates of small enterprises.

These seven areas mentioned are identified as the main reasons why technology-based small enterprises fail during the first three years of their existence. The focus areas mentioned will be addressed by the three main divisions of Stp, each of which is uniquely designed and positioned to transfer technologies and provide additional business development and Quality support services to entrepreneurs and small enterprises in specific market sectors.

SEDA OFFERINGS

“Seda offers entrepreneurs a helping hand through business consulting, training and referrals to specialist service providers. Our business advisors help entrepreneurs identify what they need to succeed, whether it be skills, contacts or funding, and help them to access it.” Seda should be the starting point for all potential entrepreneurs, as well as existing entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses. “Every entrepreneur who walks through Seda’s doors will be assisted in some way. Even when we cannot directly provide a service, entrepreneurs wil be referred to a suitable course or partner”, she adds.

OUR THREE CORE OBJECTIVES ARE:

To enhance the competitiveness and capabilities of small enterprises through coordinated services, programmes and projects; To ensure equitable access for small enterprises to business support services through partnerships and; To strengthen the organization to deliver on its mission.