City programmes empower businesses
The City’s Economic Growth Directorate has a wealth of development programmes available for Cape Town-based small businesses and now is their chance to get in on the action. Businesses are encouraged to visit or contact the City’s Business Hub for upcoming programmes. Read more below:
Speaking at 40 Knots (Pty) Ltd, a Blackheath powerboat manufacturer that has taken part in the Productivity Efficiency Programme (PEP), Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos said it was promising to see the visible impact of the City-funded project on the business.
40 Knots, which was established in 2013 and initially designed foil-supported power catamarans, opened their own manufacturing facility in 2023 where they have built 37-foot (11,2 metres) and 57-foot (17,4m) catamarans for overseas clients.
‘PEP is administered by Productivity South Africa, which works closely with the City’s Business Hub team to carefully identify areas for systemic and operational improvement within a business. That is exactly what they’ve done at 40 Knots, where the team is talented and committed, but needed guidance and greater structure around workflows, housekeeping and record-keeping. By implementing learnings from PEP, I have every confidence that 40 Knots will not only retain their current 40 employees but grow the team even more,’ said Alderman Vos.
40 Knots’ Baren Smit, Executive Director and co-founder, said the current training received from Productivity SA builds on the previous basic learnings given by the organisation.
‘The current training was the perfect addition to what we got before. 40 Knots is a small production start-up with no internal training capacity and therefore the support from Productivity SA is absolutely needed and appreciated,’ said Smit.
Alderman Vos also visited Cape Town Stainless Steel (CTSS), also in Blackheath. CTSS supplies and fabricates stainless steel, carbon steel and specialised alloy products.
In 2024, CTSS participated in the High Impact Supplier Development Programme, a course facilitated by The Business Associate and funded by the City. It is designed to develop small businesses into suppliers of choice within their industries.
The course covers supply chain integration, customer and market positioning, financial growth, operational and supply chain alignment and performance management.
‘It is gratifying to witness how people take the opportunities given through our skills development workshops or workplace development programmes and use them to unlock their own professional potential,’ said Alderman Vos.
CTSS owner, Earl Polman, said being part of the High Impact course is proving valuable.
‘Participation has provided Cape Town Stainless Steel with exposure to opportunities within the City environment and supported our efforts to promote innovative stainless steel solutions for future infrastructure projects,’ said Polman.
These are two of a variety of enterprise support initiatives offered by the Business Hub.
Highlights from the 2025/2026 financial year include:
- 1 324 vendors trained to improve their ability to compete for quotations and tenders against a target of 1 200
- 552 businesses exposed to private and public sector procurement opportunities against a target of 300
- 1 587 SMMEs supported through digitisation programmes, substantially exceeding the target of 100
- 1 286 enterprises supported through business development and market-access interventions against a target of 1 200
- 17 productivity improvement action plans implemented, exceeding the target of 12
- 688 jobs supported and retained, significantly exceeding the annual target of 250 jobs
‘The recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEMS) report on realising South Africa’s entrepreneurial potential identified training and networking programmes as vital to making a substantive difference to survival and growth outcomes for new enterprises. It further noted that effective government programmes could connect entrepreneurs to resources they cannot access independently. It is encouraging to know and see the effects of the City’s enterprise development projects. I urge new and growing businesses to take advantage of these offerings,’ said Alderman Vos.
For business-related queries, contact The Business Hub at bu**************@**********ov.za or +27 21 417 4043.
Information on the City’s business support services:
