Tomorrow on the 13th of September 2018, the Executive Mayor Cllr Herman Mashaba, will officially open the City of Johannesburg’s third Opportunity Centre in Diepsloot (Region A).
This opening comes after the opening of two such centres in March and July named Khoebo (located in Marshalltown) and Isiqalo (located in Roodepoort) respectively. It is under
the leadership of MMC for Economic Development, Cllr Leah Knott, that the roll out of continues across the City.
The centres are based on a model that is set to uplift the profile of emerging entrepreneurs, allowing them to benefit extensively from the services offered.
The new Opportunity Centre business model allows the Department of Economic Development to increase the number of centres earmarked to facilitate ease of access by people mostly in need of them, in various communities and surrounding areas.
According to the Department’s strategic objectives, a total of 14 Opportunity Centres are planned to be rolled out by the end of the 2020/2021 financial year. The City strongly believes that the development and support of SMMEs and entrepreneurs plays a critical role in assisting the City to achieve its target of a 5% economic growth by 2021, and a reduction in the unemployment rate within Johannesburg.
Through our private sector partners (TUHF, ABSA, SEDA, SARS, SAICA, GenAfrica, Discovery, Umastandi, Productivity SA, CIPS, Innovation Hub, and Smart Procurement World), the City aims to continue empowering youth in business through an array of services offered at the centres.
The Opportunity Centres serve as a “Single Point of Entry” for servicing emerging and established SMMEs geared towards growing their businesses. SMMEs will be guided on how to register their businesses, develop business plans; they will be assisted in analysing business models and identifying corrective actions that can help grow and sustain their businesses.
Some of the standardised services that will be offered at the Diepsloot Opportunity Centre, as in other two centres are:
a) General business information and advice
b) Business assessments, gap analysis and development plans
c) Business management training seminars, including financial literacy, marketing sales and operations managements
d) Training on tax compliance and including company registration
e) Managed workshops, meeting rooms and internet wi-fi services for business research
f) Funding facilitation including funding products awareness and application support
g) Enterprise development services delivery points
h) Assistance with city supplier data base and compliance issues
i) Business Idea Generation and Supply Chain training to enable access to markets
j) Referral to relevant business support services
All Opportunity Centres have a job seekers desk, which offers public and private sector companies’ access to a pool of applicants utilising the database. This is one of the ways the City has shown a commitment to providing sustainable long-term support instead of using people as numbers that achieve minimal results without meaningful change.
Interested parties are encouraged to visit the following Opportunity Centres:
KHOEBO OPPORTUNITY CENTRE
Address: 9th Floor
Samancor Building
88 Marshall Street, Marshalltown
ISIQALO OPPORTUNITY CENTRE
Address: 4th Floor
Roodepoort Civic Theatre
Christian De Wet Road, Florida Park
DIEPSLOOT OPPORTUNITY CENTRE (The official name will be announced at the launch)
Address: 1131 Ingonyama Street
Skills Centre, Diepsloot
Cllr Leah Ruth Knott
MMC for Economic Development
City of Johannesburg
For media queries, contact:
Jabulile Buthelezi
Stakeholder Manager: Office of the MMC for Economic Development
Office: +27 11 703 5561
Mobile: +27 67 028 9636
Email: JabulileBu@joburg.org.za
