Local emerging businesses and aspiring business people from the Veeplaas community in Nelson Mandela Bay have been presented with an opportunity to boost the local township economy following the opening of a local Business Centre by the Municipality
Executive mayor, Athol Trollip, officially opened the Veeplaas Business Hive on Tuesday to assist local businesses from the local community and the surrounding areas.
According to an NMB statement, the opening comes after 20 years of waiting by the Veeplaas community and aspiring entrepreneurs are hoping to make a difference in the township economy.
The Municipality said that the main objective was to create ease of access and convenience for township entrepreneurs who have to travel to the CBC to access services provided by the incubator.
The Veeplaas Business Centre will provide services that include business advice to start-ups, assisting with the development of business plans and also providing access to internet services to entrepreneurs registered with the incubator.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said whilse the Centre does not provide financial funding to businesses directly, it will assist entrepreneurs in ensuring that the meet all criteria to obtain funding.
Addressing the community of Veeplaas and local emerging business owners, Trollip encouraged the community of Veeplaas to be bold and “be prepared to work hard for the success of their businesses.”
“If you work hard and commit yourself to grow your business, the municipality will give you full support. We are doing this because we understand that a successful local business will not only benefit the owner, it will also assist in creating much-needed jobs and be an inspiration to others,” he said.
The centres are run under the guidance of the Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture directorate.
Ward Councillor Mbulelo Gidane said “whilst this might be an ordinary event to everybody else, it is a big day for the Veeplaas community”.
“This incubator will change lives.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
