“Together with key partners from the private sector, we can turn the Johannesburg into a City of golden opportunities for future generations,” Executive Mayor Cllr Herman Mashaba said at the official opening of the first Joburg Opportunity Centre (OPC) on Wednesday, March 14 2018.
The launch comes hot on the heels of Council approving an adjustment budget that set aside R10 million for the establishing 14 centres which will provide much-needed training for prospective entrepreneurs and job seekers.
“This is a first of its kind and we’re really proud to be bringing opportunities closer, easier and more attainable to residents who had previously been left on the fringes. The problem of unemployment cannot be achieved by the City alone, together we can turn the City into a City of golden opportunities for future generations,” said Mayor Mashaba.
He urged budding entrepreneurs to stop blaming others for their failures and to focus on the bottom line. “I started my own business from the boot of my car at the age of 22 despite apartheid laws that prevented black people from excelling in business,” said Mayor Mashaba.
Before rushing off to buy a Maserati or a German machine, Mayor Mashaba advised business people not to rely on favours but offer a compelling service or product that would be embraced by the market. Profit was key, but so was paying government its dues in the form of different taxes, he emphasised.
Five more OPC will be opened before June 2018 and the plan is to have two in each of the City’s regions. The services the centres will provide include conceptualisation, design, analysis of businesses plans, capturing of Curriculum Vitae's for the unemployed and those seeking employment and registration of businesses.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development, Cllr Leah Knott, said the City firmly believed that the development and support of SMMEs will assist the City in achieving the 5% economic growth by year 2021.
“This is the culmination of the regional summits during which the City interacted with more than 1 500 entrepreneurs in the seven regions. It’s a ground-breaking moment for the City to grow and develop businesses,” said MMC Knott.
She said with unemployment sitting high, and with the youth being the hardest hit, the City is determined to support and empower the youth through the new OPC model. These facilities will however be open to the entire public, allowing everyone access to the necessary support they need to advance an entrepreneurial culture, particularly for individuals who are keen on being self- employed.
The centres will launch a Job Seeker’s helpdesk by June. It will have a procurement desk facility which will assist SMMEs to access the City’s information regarding tenders and related helpful information, including an innovation desk where SMMEs can host a platform for their entrepreneurial ideas to be refined for different phased implementation.
Some of the OPC partners are Absa, Productivity SA, Small Business Development Agency, Innovation Hub, Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, Smart Procurement, SARS, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Gen Africa and Discovery.
