The West Coast Business Development Centre is the “go-to” agent for enterprise and supplier development activities throughout the broader West Coast Municipal area.
We create an enabling and nurturing environment for entrepreneurship for the SMME’s and offer a number of appropriate services.
Entrepreneurial Development
Intensive, Specialised, Strategic
Training for SMME's
The programme consists of five days of training and six to twelve months of business counseling and follow-up to develop and make the business sustainable.
SMME Development, Accreditation and Corporate Business linkage programme
We promote business linkages between an established business and an emerging small business with regard to tender opportunities by –
- Identifying business opportunities for SMME’s through the promotion of procurement amongst corporate and government agencies in our area;
- Ensuring that the SMME has the status of a legal entity and provide assistance to SMME’s with preparation of tenders;
- Facilitating joint ventures between businesses looking for local partners.
Business advice and Counseling
Individual business counseling forms an important part of our daily activities.
Assistance provided varies from new entrepreneurs with minimum skills who need general assistance to a person with an established business or skills in need of specialist knowledge or a specific intervention.
The most common requests for counseling relates to the formulation of business plans, marketing advice, bookkeeping and assistance with regard to access to finance via a third party.
We have a list of specialised part-time mentors who provide the SMME’s with business assistance and advice on an individual basis.
Specialised Business Training Skills
Relevant Workshops on a needs basis
Business Awareness Management
- Business Strategy Development
- Financial Strategy Development
- Marketing Strategy Development
- Operations Strategy Development
Tendering workshop
- Difference between public and private tenders
- Tender overview
- Understanding the tender process
- Functionality criteria
- Preference point system
- Costing and pricing
Functions of the Health and Safety representatives, including Level 1 first aid training, in terms of the OHS Act.
Contractor Development training.
Company / Co-operative registration and amendments
We assist the entrepreneur to complete and lodge CIPC documentation.
We assist the SMME’s in obtaining their B-BBEE certification and hold SARS compliance workshops on Income Tax, Provisional Tax, VAT, PAYE etc. to empower the SMME’s.
We also, when needed, assist the SMME’s by providing support when they go to the bank to open their business accounts.
Project management and project-related training
Information dissemination
Compliance training and products
Includes Ariba tender information
- Central Supplier Database (CSD)
- Western Cape Supplier Database
- Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
- Compensation for Occupational Industry Act (COIDA)
- Workman’s Compensation Act (WCA)
- Safety File Development
- Safety Plan Development
- National Contract Cleaners Association (NCCA)
- SMME’s are trained to find tender information on the Ariba system.
On completion of registration on the above databases, we assist the SMME’s in obtaining a Letter of Good Standing.
On-line e-learning
IT resource centre
We have a computer centre set up for
International Oil and Gas e-training.
An SMME, who is an IT specialist, has set up an
IT resource centre for use by the SMME’s.
We offer various training courses throughout the year.