As Proudly South Africa kicks off its yearly Buy Local Summit, held in Sandton from April 3 to 4, the Department of Small Business Development and Nestle have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on providing supply chain opportunities for small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa.

The MoU, signed on Monday by Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu and Nestle communication and public affairs director Ravi Pillay, forms the basis of a supplier development relationship, connecting smaller businesses and cooperatives with the larger more established companies.

The next steps in the three-year public–private sector collaboration had already been implemented, with some 30 to 100 microdistributors from townships already identified and set to receive training and development, with a total of 600 new jobs to be created by 2020.

According to Nestle, the microdistributors will receive financial support, vehicles for their business and training in business management.

The agreement forms part of the department’s ambitions of developing local small businesses and work to catapult them into the mainstream economy.

“This is one of many [imminent MoUs] we will be signing with many other large businesses,” Zulu told delegates at the summit, reiterating the critical need to “unapologetically support” black- and women-owned small businesses.

The role of SMMEs worldwide in advancing and building economies was well-documented, but in South Africa, this growth was lagging, Zulu commented, pointing out that if the structure of the economy did not change, it made it evermore difficult for small businesses to immerse themselves in the mainstream economy and operate sustainably.

“Our government has committed to set the country on path of radical economic transformation. We have to deal with triple challenges [inequality, poverty and unemployment] and change the structure of the economy in South Africa.”

She further encouraged the local buying of products and services, along with Proudly SA CEO Eustace Mashimbye, who said buying local formed a critical part of growing the country, maintaining and creating jobs.

Proudly SA is accelerating its campaigns to stimulate national pride, with consumption of goods and services favouring South Africa-made business, products and services, through preferential procurement, consumer, private and public sector education.

The organisation affirmed that the benefits of buying local were “enormous”, with every R1 spent in manufacturing delivering a R1.13 addition to the country’s gross domestic product, an increase of 13c in export receipts and 35c in fiscal revenue.

Zulu added that, with the economy not growing as fast as required, bold steps were needed to bolster the economy and procurements officers need to, as far as possible, to buy local.

“People need to spend on local goods, which will in turn create jobs and keep jobs in the country,” she concluded.