17-May-2011

The second Cape Town Social Enterprise Business Plan Competition (SEBPC) ran from October 2010 to February 2011. Initiated by The Business Place Philippi, the competition was expanded this year to include Paarl and Stellenbosch as well as the Cape Metropole.

The immediate objectives of the competition were to raise awareness of social enterprise as a concept among the public at large in the target communities, and to encourage members of those communities to come up with viable business solutions to real social problems. These potential social entrepreneurs were then helped to develop outline social business plans that described how their ideas could work.

Additionally the competition aimed to provide existing business development service (BDS) institutions currently serving the target communities with an awareness and understanding of social enterprise, and the appropriate tools to provide BDS support to social enterprises as well as conventional businesses.

TBP Philippi branch manager Egbert Wessels says:

“The SEBPC has been a great opportunity for TBPP to not only create an awareness amongst our client base of this new hybrid of business and social development, but to provide training and tools for those who see themselves as social entrepreneurs. The response has been good and we now have a whole new community of entrepreneurs we are working with. I am excited for social entrepreneurship in Cape Town!”

Key funders were the International Labor Organisation’s Social Entrepreneurship Development Targeting Unemployed Youth in South Africa (SETYSA) project, and the Enterprise Development Unit (EDU) of the provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism. The EDU came on board as anchor partner and main sponsor for 2010 with a commitment to support the competition for three years.

A large number of business development service providers and providers of social enterprise finance were also actively involved as partners: Red Door, The Business Place eKapa, UnLtd South Africa, Tembeka Social Investment Company Ltd, National Youth Development Agency, Disability Workshop Development Enterprise and the Small Enterprise Development Agency Western Cape.

The eight award winners were selected by an adjudication panel and honoured at an awards event on 14 February 2011, which had as key note speaker Alan Winde, Western Cape MEC for Economic Development. The award winners are now being supported and mentored towards receiving grant funding to establish or expand their social enterprises.

Winner Phindile Mangwana, KEEP

Guest speakers: Egbert Wessels, The Business Place Philippi, Kathy Watters, UnLtd SA and Litha Kutta, Director: Department of Economic Development and Tourism

Winner Nonceba Siyobi, Ukwakhana Sewing Co-operative