Tsegofatso Chifokoyo, entrepreneur and business owner of Ishecorp, may be young, but she has big dreams of helping to develop other young people to get their own small businesses off the ground.
It is this enthusiasm and vision that attracted the attention of Incubator SMME, Bizz Acc, an accounting franchise, that trained and mentored Tsegofatso as a franchisee.
“I’m really proud to be an accredited franchisee and have plans to identify and establish a good client base of other young entrepreneurs in the Francis Baard region,” said Tsegofatso Chifokoyo.
The business provides bookkeeping services as well as providing incubation for SMMEs in Barkley West and around Francis Baard.
Droogfontein Solar Power provided funding for her business equipment, including computers as well as the funding to become an accredited franchisee. In addition to this, support for brand design, marketing, and business support is included.
The solar plant’s support of this local 100% black woman-owned enterprise is part of their youth economic development programme that is at the heart of Droogfontein Solar Power’s Enterprise Development strategy. Furthermore, the solar plant believes in the empowerment of youth and women-owned enterprises, two sectors of South African society which remain marginalised.
The solar plant believes that enterprise development programmes that build local capacity, especially amongst women and youth, will have a meaningful impact and can help to steer local economies towards a more stable environment as more local jobs are created.
“The role of black owned small enterprises, especially those that are owned and managed by youth, is an opportunity to support exponential growth and development,” explained Zuki Ndlela, Economic Development Officer at Droogfontein Solar Power.
SMMEs play a key important role in rural South Africa as they are productive drivers of inclusive economic growth and development. According to the Department of Trade and Industry small businesses represent 98% of the total number of companies and employ over half of the country’s labour force. The sector is so important that the Ministry for Small Business Development was set up some time ago, so that economic opportunities can be unlocked and thus achieve inclusive economic growth and sustainable employment.
Droogfontein Solar Power’s Enterprise Development includes initiatives to assist and accelerate the sustainability of local enterprises by ploughing financial resources into the areas of Kimberley, Riverton, Ritchie and Barkly West areas.
