Ministers, deputy presidents, celebrities and awards were all part of the inaugural South African Business Incubation Conference (SABIC) and Expo which recently took place at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Joburg.
As a company focused on enterprise and supplier development by means of incubation, it was a natural synergy for the New Generation Mindset team to partner with The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the Department of Small Business Development (dsbd), in order to create a platform where the focus was on Technology Business Incubation and Innovation.
During the opening address, the Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu, said “Considering that township economies are worth R100 billion, supporting a culture of entrepreneurship through incubation in order to revitalise grassroots economies, should be the key focus for Government and public and private sector partners. This will be done through delivering of effective service to SMMEs and small business and promoting incubation and innovation across all geographic groups to excavate people from poverty.”
With a focus on Incubation as a vehicle for economic prosperity, talks centred on enterprise development as a key tool to advance youth and women, promoting entrepreneurship and economic growth.
Monkwe Mpye, Supplier Development Manager at Eskom said: “As a key supporter of Enterprise and Supplier Development, the team at Eskom enjoyed the conference. The panel discussion on technology business incubators as an enabler to build an innovation based economy was insightful, especially NGM CEO, Zaid Mohidin’s relevant presentation and practical case studies which showed how to implement technology and innovation in the development programme.”
Mpye added: “We were elated to have one of the incubatees on the Eskom Incubator Programme managed by NGM and co-funded by the Department of Trade and Industry in the Eastern Cape win an award. What an achievement for a grassroots company to evolve into an award winning business, with a turnover of over R15 million in the first year on our programme.”
NGM Incubatee and SABIC Award finalist, Molly Ntsaluba from Silver Stars Trading was announced as third place winner in the SABIC Incubator Client Award. Ntsaluba praised the event organisers and emphasized that she had not only gained from the talks at the event, but especially as a beneficiary of the Eskom, NGM incubation programme.
NGM CEO, Zaid Mohidin said: “The NGM team are excited and inspired to continue the work we do in incubation of youth, women and especially development of enterprises at grassroots level. In the words of the Deputy President - If Minister Zulu is obsessed with small business (and enterprise) development, I will also be obsessed as the Deputy President. NGM has and always will be obsessed with delivering award winning service to develop small businesses, suppliers and enterprises through innovative incubation.”
