Opportunity Issue 103

SACCI Business body

SACCI Business body rolls out new initiatives SACCI has a suite of important interventions, certificates and handbooks to assist businesses of every size. Certificates of Origin On 23 March 2020 SACCI signed an MOU with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic). This agreement gives SACCI the rights to issue Certificates of Origin. On 10 June 2021, SACCI invited all chambers of commerce and other issuers of Certificates of Origin to participate in a presentation and to advise them of the MOU signed with the dtic. Over 150 participants attended the presentation. The presentation focused on the authority around the Rules of Origin. SARS Customs is deputised by the dtic along similar lines to the authority given to SACCI in the MOU. SARS Customs has indicated to SACCI that, as it is the regulator in the trade space, it will assist SACCI with enforcement where noncompliance is determined in terms of audit and accreditation and Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) does not have jurisdiction over Certificates of Origin as this is a trade function housed with the dtic. A roadmap was implemented on the rollout of the Certificates of Origin and SACCI started engaging the motor vehicle manufacturers and freight forwarders to set up agencies. The purpose of the agencies is to empower young black women to be upskilled and become shareholders in the agencies. A clause in the agreement stipulates that all issuers of Certificates of Origin must be trained by SAQA-approved trainers. On that basis, SACCI engaged a SAQA-approved training team and training began on 27 January 2022. Credit: Ian Taylor/Unsplash SACCI recognises that the implementation has to be phased in to ensure minimum disruptions to our export industries. Also, a campaign has to be actioned on educating the market and getting real information to the customers to ensure that they use the accredited services as well as the risks attached to utilising unauthorised issuers. The umbrella body is cognisant that this process requires the building of trust in the business community which is in the interests of all the institutions in organised business. Freight Forwarders – Certificates of Origin SACCI has signed up its first Freight Forwarding Agency and its staff have been trained to start issuing Certificates of Origin. SACCI has completed the process of capturing the agency’s members on the SmartAdmin Database and they will start issuing the COOs. The next step is to issue RFPs (request for proposals) for agencies, starting in the Western Cape and then rolling it out to other provinces. The Township Economy SACCI is cognisant of the challenges facing SMEs and is developing a pilot programme for the Township Economy. Through SACCI’s skills sets, internal capacity-building, improved services and an enhanced positioning of the chamber as a key stakeholder in the Alexandra township, the project aims to contribute to the reduction of structural obstacles that limit the growth of small enterprises. SACCI currently has a chamber that has the infrastructure in place to take this pilot programme to the next level. This will be done by providing training, mentoring, consultancy and business advisory services, market access, building of business linkages and networks. This programme will be used as a template for the development of other township-based chambers for SME development. Small Business Growth Index On 12 August 2022, SACCI and the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) signed a memorandum of understanding. Credit: 5M2T 14 | www.opportunityonline.co.za

SACCI The areas of collaboration are based on the development and implementation of a Small Business Growth Index (SBGI) for South Africa to serve as an indicator for small business growth and development. The collaboration builds on the SACCI business idea to develop an innovative and well-branded instrument to serve the small business community of South Africa by allowing this sector of the economy to express insights on how the small business environment is evolving on a bimonthly basis. SACCI and BMR believe that shared resources, co-branding and cooperation between the two parties will provide a comparative advantage to the entire product concept which has great potential to become a national asset for small business development in our country, thereby contributing towards achieving the mandate of the Department of Small Business Development. That mandate is leading and coordinating an integrated approach to the promotion and development of entrepreneurship, Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) and Co-operatives, and to ensure an enabling legislative and policy environment to support their growth and sustainability. Toolkit for Chambers Chambers in South Africa (and around the world) are struggling to remain relevant because of a lack of resources and skills. In view of this the SACCI team decided to develop a Toolkit for Chambers (Chamber Guide). The purpose of the Chamber Toolkit will be to help chambers in “Getting back to Basics” by assisting them with recruiting and retaining members, networking, marketing, and promoting and operationalising chambers, among other things. The first part of the Toolkit (Recruitment and Retention) has been completed and was presented to the chambers at the Chamber Forum meeting on 4 May 2022. The Toolkit will be done in stages and will be forwarded to chambers in sections as and when it is completed. It will also be workshopped with the chambers when each section is completed. All sections of the Toolkit (when completed) will ultimately be collated in one comprehensive manual and be the Chamber Guide for operating a successful chamber. Christina @ wocintechchat.com Toolkit for SMEs SACCI is in the process of developing a Small Business Toolkit which will be a business companion guide for SMEs. This Toolkit will assist in the training of small business owners, managers, employees and other individuals to foster SME development. Training is needed to impart entrepreneurial, management and business-operation skills for SME business success. Workstreams In December 2020 the SACCI CEO and President decided that something needed to be done about the South African economy. The Board of SACCI and the membership decided it needed to advance the economy and instructed the SACCI operational team to work on a suite of workstreams. The Board of SACCI together with the membership agreed on the following 11 workstreams: 1. Small business development 2. Energy and water 3. Mining 4. Construction 5. Manufacturing 6. Transport 7. Agriculture (wholesale and retail) 8. Financial services 9. Telecommunications 10. Tourism and leisure 11. Education and skills The operational team has completed the Small Business Workstream. The Agricultural Workstream is in progress. The Mining and Manufacturing Workstreams are in the process of being initiated. The team has established a timeline to complete all the workstreams by the end of 2022. Benefits SACCI has added the following suite of benefits as a value-add for its members: • Accounting services (CIPC registration, annual financial statements, IT registrations, VAT registrations, management accounts, PAYE, etc) • HR services (payroll, group share structures and taxation planning) • CCMA resolutions (labour, issues, legal disputes, disciplinary issues, etc) • Fuel management systems and rebates These benefits will be rolled out in due course. www.opportunityonline.co.za | 15