​The City of Johannesburg's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Development, Councillor Nkululeko Mbundu, has encouraged residents to use Opportunity Centres for business and jobseeker support.

“As residents of our City return after a well-deserved break, many will be eager to start their own businesses, while others will be looking for work. We wish to urge our citizens to visit our Opportunity Centres, which serve as a single point of contact for SMMEs and job seekers thus playing a role in the reduction of unemployment," said MMC Mbundu.

The Opportunity Centre business model is one of the City's initiatives aimed at assisting small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and cooperatives in their development and long-term viability. Through a combination of in-house and external resources, Opportunity Centres provide free services to SMMEs and cooperatives.

Cllr Mbundu said the City of Johannesburg's priority is to create a climate that encourages economic growth with clear and concise economic policy, thus allowing us to rebuild a City that is Pro-business and Pro-jobs.

“Our Opportunity Centres are geared at strengthening in the main our SMME sector, making it easier to open and operate a business while also providing support to jobseekers by registering them on the City's Jobseekers database. As a result, I encourage our residents to visit our Opportunity Centres, and make use of this wonderful infrastructure."

Some of the services offered by Opportunity Centres include:

Training Services

• Business Management (financial management, bookkeeping, people management).
• Business planning.
• Marketing strategy development.
• Supply-chain training so clients can gain increased access to markets.

Consultation Services

• Providing pre-start, start-up, and existing businesses with business development consulting.
• Advice on business planning and concept generation, as well as tax and financial management compliance challenges.
• Facilitation of access to financing through Opportunity Centre partners' services. 

Facilities Usage for Business

• Access to boardroom use for business (e.g. meeting, presentation, interview etc.)
• Access to internet/Wi-Fi for business use (e.g. research, market opportunities, preparation of business proposals.

Jobseekers Support

• The Opportunity Centres also provide jobseekers with a registration database to connect the unemployed with both public and private organisations, as well as capacity-building courses such as job preparation to better equip and prepare job seekers for an interview.

Location of Opportunity Centres

Ends

Issued by the City of Johannesburg

For Media Enquiries:

Sibongiseni Ndlangalavu

Email: SibongiseniNdla@joburg.org.za
Cell: 071 862 3463