Mayor unveils R10-million business hub
Businessowners and aspiring businessowners in and around Ekurhuleni can now walk in to the doors of the newly launched Ekurhuleni Business Facilitation Network.
The Ekurhuleni Business Facilitation Network comprises of the following strategic business units: An Investment Centre, Business Centre, BizSpark Application Development Centre, Aerotropolis Project Office, and Ekurhuleni Seda Enterprise Development Branch Office.
According to municipality, the facility is aimed at attracting investment to Africa’s first Aerotropolis and cost the municipality approximately R10-million to put together. It is also situated five minutes from the airport and is a one-stop facility for investment in the city.
Executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli Gungubele, says it is deliberate that the facility is not called a centre, but rather a network.
“We are sold on the view that it is through mobilising and leveraging strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations that we shall be able to make a significant impact in the economy of Ekurhuleni,” explains Gungubele.
“We have realised that one of the most critical ways to fight poverty, unemployment and inequality is job creation and it starts with an enabling environment for investors to see us as the investment destination of choice,” he says.
Gungubele explains that the operationalisation of the Ekurhuleni Business Facilitation Network will go a long-way in enabling the Ekurhuleni metro to achieve a number of goals.
These include providing a coordinated business support, incubation, mentorship, linkages and financing intervention for SMMEs and cooperatives.
It is also hoped that the facility will help to coordinate the development and roll-out of the 30 years Aerotropolis Master Plan.
Gungubele says the city has developed a framework that prioritises investment and development facilitation in order to improve the city’s relationship with the investing community.
“Our primary intent is to ensure that public and private sector investments into strategic, affluent, underdeveloped and marginalised areas of Ekurhuleni are unlocked through a systematic and coordinated fast-tracked investment and development decision-making machinery.
“It all starts with an innovative product like this facility,” concludes Gungubele.
