Planting the Right Seda

Knysna Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa visited one of the exhibitors at the market.

A special exhibition of SMMEs took place at Woodmill Lane Shopping Centre last week, with 30 businesses from across the Garden Route getting to exhibit their products and/or services.

The three-day pop-up market was an initiative of the Small Enterprises Development Agency (Seda), as well as Knysna Municipality.

Alex Qunta, Seda Western Cape manager, stated prior to the market that the opportunity aims to address one of the key challenges that impede the growth of small businesses, which is access to markets.

“The inability of small businesses to access markets has been noted as one of the major factors threatening their longevity,” he said.

“Access to markets is one of the fundamental requirements of credit providers to access funding. However, small businesses located in areas like Knysna are at a disadvantage compared with their urban counterparts.”

The exhibitors provided positive feedback, with many saying it was a good opportunity for their business to get their product out in the public.

There was a wide variety of services and products on show at the exhibition at Woodmill Lane.

Some also suggested many more similar interventions to increase SMMEs’ access to the market.

Seda, the National Youth Development Agency, and Knysna Municipality will consolidate a report on joint interventions that they are doing for local SMMEs. The report will be tabled at the next municipal council meeting in 2023 for more funding.

The next market by Seda will be held in the Bitou municipal area in December.

Source: Knysnaplettherald