Hubs empower young entrepreneurs
Thermal Coal’s small business hub programme is empowering the youth by providing the financial support and expertise they need to establish their businesses and create employment in their communities, which are our hosts.
The programme takes a holistic approach to enterprise development by combining access to finance at favourable rates with hands-on business support. It is based on the award-winning model developed by Zimele http://www.angloamerican.co.za/.../anglo-zimele.aspx , Anglo American’s business development arm.
“As youth unemployment continues to rise, young people are increasingly seeing small business as a key employment creation opportunity,” says Thermal Coal community development manager Mokhine Makgalamele
He believes that the growing small, medium and micro enterprise sector has the potential to play a major role in tackling poverty and unemployment among the youth; something that is already being achieved by our seven hubs situated in Phola, the Vaal, eMalahleni, Middelburg, Secunda, Bushbuckridge and Dennilton.
Since its inception in 2008, the Thermal Coal programme has provided seed and working capital amounting to R130 million through Anglo American’s Communities Fund. These businesses provide employment to 5,225 people, with some 37% being owned by youths.
Situated in Ogies, Mpumalanga, the Phola hub alone has helped create 373 jobs in the last two years, 260 of them for young people.
One of its most successful entrepreneurs is 26-year-old former cabin attendant Velentia Mkhabela, co-owner of Bokamoso Business Enterprise, which employs 103 people.
“We started out as a community-based waste management project funded by Zibulo Colliery,” says Valentia who soon sought out ways to grow her business.
“I decided to knock on some doors and finally identified an opportunity to provide a conveyor cleaning service for the Phola Coal Processing Plant run by Minopex,” she says. Minopex deals in the outsourced operation and maintenance of minerals and metals processing plants.
Velentia approached the hub for assistance in the compilation of a proposal and accompanying quotations, and was soon awarded a one-year contract. Anglo American provided start-up funding to get the business on its feet, and the contract has since been extended for a further two years.
The quality of service provided by Bokamoso earned it a further two contracts, one at the Minopex operation in Delmas and another at Zibulo’s underground mine. These employ a respective 15 and 30 local people, while the waste management project continues to provide permanent work for 18 individuals.