Glencore Ferroalloys has stepped up its support for local entrepreneurs through the roll-out of enterprise and supplier development (ESD) hubs across major mining communities in South Africa, by adding one more hub to its network through the launch of the newly built hub in Steelpoort, Limpopo.

“The launch of the hub is set to be a game changer for Steelpoort and surrounding areas, as community members have long wished for this level of support, due to the lack of employment and skills shortage within the area,” the company says in a statement.

“Small businesses are an integral part of revitalising our economy and our aim is to infiltrate our host communities with resources that will help them progress their business through the ESD hubs.

“The roll-out of these hubs is Glencore’s way of being intentional about our passion for enabling small businesses and seeing them grow to compete in bigger markets. We want community members to take full advantage of the services offered in our ESD hubs because that is what will lead to what we at Glencore call 'progress together',” notes Glencore Ferroalloys CEO Japie Fullard.

The ESD launch was attended by Regoapele Capital COO Otukile Moshori, who has worked with Glencore to roll out the ESD hubs in communities.

“We are a development consultancy that specialises in the development and implementation of enterprise development and supplier development solutions. This means that our main function is to help capacitate small businesses and entrepreneurs with the goal of growing local economies.

“We really value the role that big corporates like Glencore are playing because they are setting a prime example for other big businesses to see the value of supporting small, medium-sized and microenterprises,” Moshori says.

The ESD programme is specifically targeting local black-owned, black women-owned, disabled- and youth-owned enterprises in the business pre-startup, startup and early growth stages to provide them with the necessary support to grow their businesses.