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2 years ago

Opportunity Issue 97

  • Text
  • Sacci
  • Esg
  • Jse
  • Economy
  • Smart
  • Africa
  • Investment
  • Trade
  • Regoapele
  • Sustainable
  • Global
  • Mining
  • Solutions
  • Virtual
  • Sector
  • Economic
  • Businesses
  • African
Opportunity, endorsed by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI), is the mouthpiece for business in Southern Africa. The aim of the publication is to inform potential investors both nationally and internationally of the most relevant business news: trade, investment, financial, market-related information for each business sector, as well as to inform of the latest developments in business legislation from both the public and private sector. In this issue, SACCI’s call is for everyone to work towards the common purpose of getting our economy on a sound footing again.

INTERVIEW Building on

INTERVIEW Building on the wealth beneath us The CEO of Regoapele Capital, Katlego Kenoshi, tells Opportunity how vital it is that new models of financing must be adopted if SMMEs are going to become engines of economic growth in South Africa. Her dynamic company is creating new models of wealth creation in collaboration with corporates and local government. 8 | www.opportunityonline.co.za

INTERVIEW How did Regoapele Capital come about? Regoapele Capital was established as a financial advisory and intermediary services firm providing professional financial advice, planning and solutions, and expertise across a wide range of financial disciplines. In response to the needs of our SME segment, we needed to integrate a new business focus with a broader ambit. That saw us building out a business development services unit which specialised in the focused delivery of services and support to entrepreneurial clients and their businesses. Combining strong financial skill and acumen and a deep understanding of business, and in keeping with our wealth creation credo, we offer personal involvement, valuable skill sets and know-how to improve the likelihood of success for our clients, both in their businesses and in their personal finances. We are firm believers in the potential and ability of entrepreneurial enterprises to propel economic growth and advance development. For this cause, we partner with corporates seeking to make a meaningful developmental impact to co-create and implement enterprise and supplier development initiatives. Please describe your service offering. Regoapele Capital enables shared value through impact ecosystems comprising small and big business. The growth of the business sector, now more than ever given the economic fallout from Covid-19, requires big business to encourage the development of and support small, medium and micro enterprises and thereby back the creation of job opportunities. On the one hand, we partner with corporates and local governments in their undertakings to develop SMEs – through enterprise and supplier development (ESD) and local economic development (LED) – to create and implement programmes that would lead to socioeconomic transformation, while building inclusive value chains and sustainable local enterprises, and improving local economies and communities. We also operate business support centres that are powered by our principal partners. On the other, we partner with SMEs to build operational strength and self-sufficiency, improve business performance and become competitive, as well as build financial strength and integrity; and to create and preserve wealth. We do this through skills transfer and development, capacity augmentation, technical assistance, business improvements, access to finance, professional business support and mentorship and financial coaching and advice. Where do you operate? We have a footprint across four provinces – Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Please explain your relationship with Glencore Ferroalloys. Regoapele Capital commends and supports Glencore’s response and commitment to transformative development. We have partnered with Glencore to increase the capacity, capability and competitiveness of SMEs. The partnership gives dedicated support to the SMEs that are being integrated into Glencore’s supply chain and fosters the creation and development of businesses in host communities. Tell us about the business centres you operate. The business support centres we manage serve to drive the support for businesses and as a catalyst for the establishment of local businesses. The centres provide office space and facilities, a great co-working environment for entrepreneurs and encourage a professional and entrepreneurial work ethic. They provide business advice and consulting, business development support, professional business services and business skills training and development. Can you share any lessons for sustainable business practice in the enterprise and supplier development environment? Lesson 1. Building a business is a process. It requires time, intense involvement and concerted collaboration. We see this appreciated in the venture capital space, yet the same lens is not used to view SMEs in the B-BBEE ESD environment. It is in part this myopic quickie approach that one-sidedly focusses on transactional relationship and quick-win point scoring, which persists in failing to carry out the intentions of the initiative. This single simple lesson drives how we should be approaching enterprise and supplier development sustainably. www.opportunityonline.co.za | 9

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