The Business Support Centre, Pietermaritzburg (BSC) is an independent, non-governmental organisation, which provides expert training, advice and facilitation of linkages services to emerging entrepreneurs with a desire to succeed in business.
Hulamin Limited and BSI Steel Limited have jointly agreed to fund the Business Support Centre’s SMME development activities. The Business Support Centre, based in Pietermaritzburg, is a non-governmental organisation, which provides business training, advice and facilitation of linkages to emerging entrepreneurs in the greater Pietermaritzburg area.
The Business Support Centre has appointed Diane Gaskin as its general manager to strategically grow the participation of emerging entrepreneurs in this area. New board members have also been appointed including Chantal Lombaard, Paris Dlamini and Zinhle Sokhela.
According to Diane Gaskin, general manager, “The Business Support Centre has been doing astounding work in fulfilling its objective of contributing to economic development through proactively supporting SMME growth in the region. The centre which was established in 1996, has over the past 10 years trained more than 6 000 emerging entrepreneurs and facilitated businesses linkages in excess of R123 million, which created about 6 500 jobs. It registers over 500 new enterprises a year and mentors and counsels over 200 entrepreneurs per month.”
Another of the successes of the Business Support Centre has been in playing a critical role in Enterprise Development by linking entrepreneurs to business opportunities and recognition of broad based BEE spend. Some companies have appointed the Business Support Centre to guide them on their Enterprise Development spend and recognisable activities in terms of the scorecard.
In 2007, the Business Support Centre successfully facilitated the participation of 52 of its members to the Hulamin Black Empowerment deal through the formation of the BSC Trust. This transaction ensured that local entrepreneurs became shareholders of Hulamin Limited which has capital value estimated at R6 billion.
In 2005, in recognition of its work, the Business Support Centre’s activities were, at the recommendation of the Department of Trade and Industry, covered at the United Nation’s (London) Economic Review that was published worldwide.
