If your business goal is to be an exporter, the Western Cape government is ready to assist turn it into reality.
With only three days left to apply for the export booster fund, MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger has urged businesses to take advantage of the offer.
The government has set aside R5 million for the Export Competitiveness Enhancement Programme (ECEP) to support businesses that are export-ready or working towards export readiness to meet international market requirements.
“One of the key priority areas of our new Growth for Jobs Strategy is to drive the expansion of proudly Western Cape exports. We do this because our research shows that if we can increase exports by 10%, we can generate an estimated additional R6 billion to the Western Cape Gross Domestic Product, creating many more jobs in the province,” said Wenger.
As part of the programme, there would be a focus on developing and investing in the capacity of businesses to unlock export opportunities. Areas that would receive attention include improving the entrepreneur’s skills as well as positioning the business to expand into current markets and new market opportunities.
“Having just returned from the US, I can say that there certainly is a great interest in Western Cape products, and I look forward to helping businesses get their goods on many more shelves across the world,” said Wenger.
Chairperson of Exporters Western Cape, Terry Gale, emphasised the significance of exports.
“Exports play a major role in job creation as both agriculture and manufacturing are people intensive,” he said.
According to Gale it’s quite easy to become an exporter as long as the business owner was registered with Customs (SARS), had a bank facility and a registered company.
“If you meet the criteria and have a ready market, the world is your oyster, in particular with countries that have trade agreements with SA, AGOA, European Union, UK and the AfCFTA Agreement”, Gale added.
The Fund will support the following activities:
* Product reformulation and refinement.
* International packaging, labelling, and printing requirements.
* International product certification and standards for international market access.
* Product registration with relevant international bodies in export markets
* International nutritional analysis, and
* Specialised shipping requirements.
Applications close on June 30 at midnight and more information is available on the Western Cape government website.