A boost is at hand for small businesses in BCM that have made it through this tempestuous year.
Entrepreneur 2026 — a business acceleration initiative aimed at equipping established entrepreneurs with the skills, mentorship and support needed to grow sustainably and create jobs — was officially launched on Wednesday.
The initiative is a shared project of the Border-Kei Chamber of Business, KZN’s iLembe Chamber of Commerce and the Airports Company SA (Acsa), which is on board in regions with its airports.
The launch at the King Phalo Airport marks the beginning of the nomination and application phase, during which qualifying businesses will be invited to enter a competition.
Successful applicants will participate in an intensive business development programme designed to help them strengthen their operations, refine their business models and prepare for future growth over six weeks.
Speaking at the launch, Border-Kei Chamber of Business president Dr Johann Evertse said entrepreneurship has become increasingly important in SA as economic pressure rises, including slow economic growth and job losses.
“We all know that our economy is in trouble and therefore we can’t do enough to promote entrepreneurship.
“The big organisations are reducing staff and that is why the focus must be on entrepreneurship,” said Evertse.
He said the chamber was delighted to partner with Acsa and others in delivering a programme that supports business owners and contributes to local economic development.
“We are encouraged by our own organisation and how it has been active over the past couple of years to promote entrepreneurship,” he added.
Unlike many programmes that focus on startups, Entrepreneur 2026 is specifically targeted at businesses that are already operating and ready to expand.
Organisers stressed that the initiative is not an incubation programme — aimed at the early stages of a new business — but an acceleration programme, where a business has been operating for at least twelve months.
The idea is to lend a hand to these SMMEs with leaping to the next level and unlocking their growth potential.
“This is a business acceleration programme, but it is run as a competition.
“We invite small firms to enter the competition and the forms will be available from the chamber,” said Cobus Oelofse, CEO of iLembe Chamber of Commerce.
During the programme, participants will work closely with corporate identity specialists to strengthen their brands and master market positioning.
Each business will be assigned an experienced mentor who will provide guidance throughout the process.
“The programme takes people through that discovery journey of being able to understand their enterprise and challenge some of the assumptions around their market, their business model and who their customers are,” said Oelofse.
Acsa representative Bulelani Veto said entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic transformation and local economic growth.
“We partner with the chambers because we want to use these airports as gateways to economic benefit for the region, and to produce real economic transformation,” said Veto.
Acsa likes to demonstrate its commitment to supporting local enterprises and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in communities surrounding its airports, he added.
The programme was hailed by BCM’s head of local economic development, Xolelwa Mbete, who highlighted the crucial role of small businesses.
“SMMEs are the engine of the town’s economy. Programmes like this help SMMEs to grow — and this is how to create jobs,” she said.
Mbete said many businesses struggle to access funding opportunities, even when they are available, because they don’t know where to find the information and how to fill in the applications.
Here is another area where programmes like Entrepreneur 2026 shine.
She said the metro will engage with enterprises after the programme to explore opportunities for additional support and possible access to development initiatives.
Businesses interested in the programme can get application forms from the chamber or download them from entrepreneur.net.za through the Border-Kei portal.
Winners of the competition will be announced during the Entrepreneur Exhibition following the completion of the programme.
Airport Company SA’s Bulelani Veto, BCM LED head Xolelwa Mbete, Border-Kei Chamber of Business CEO Lizelle Maurice and Cobus Oelofse from Ilembe Chamber of Commerce urged SMMEs to apply for a six-week accelerator programme this week.