Leading retailers drive localisation through the Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster SME Accelerator
The Cape Town clothing company Sabafuraha’s ambitious plans for its exciting range of Afrocentric medical scrubs resulted in this progressive SME walking away the top honours and R20 000 prize money at the recent Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster (CCTC) 2021 Business Accelerator. The CCTC Business Accelerator was proudly supported by the City of Cape Town’s Enterprise and Investment Department.
In a hotly contested, action-packed “Dragon’s Den” event, Sabafuraha’s Moshibudi Piet scooped the award for the Best Business Pitch and was announced as the overall winner. The runner up, Joy Ezeka of Zuri and Imani, was also awarded the Most Promising Business Pitch while Suraya Williams of Design Twenty-Six took third place and was the proud recipient of the High Impact Award. Both runner’s up were presented with a cash prize of R15 000.
While these prizes are a welcome incentive for the winning SMEs, Wesley Fallon, Senior Project Manager of the CCTC says the Accelerator delivers far greater rewards for each of the entrants who made it through to the finals.
“Our finalists will now be given the opportunity to participate in strong development programmes that will take their companies to the next level. In addition to a 3-month hands-on mentorship programme with industry veterans, they will be able to access invaluable procurement opportunities with leading customers,” says Wesley.
“Connecting lead enterprises in the sector with their future suppliers is one of the key objectives of the CCTC Business Accelerator. This event not only facilitates development opportunities for small businesses but also creates a platform for large retailers to meet potential local suppliers. Supporting their realization of the Retail-Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather (R-CTFL) Masterplan objectives which aims to achieve 65% of CTFL product sourced from South Africa by 2030.” Says Wesley
“It is fantastic to have Woolworths, Cape Union Mart, Pepclo and Pepkor Speciality on board for the 2021 event. These companies are demonstrating their commitment to the Masterplan and growing the local value chain through their active participation in the CCTC Business Accelerator,” says Wesley.
This year’s Accelerator was open to all current or prospective Cape Town-based small or medium-sized manufacturers or service providers involved in the clothing, textiles, footwear and leather (CTFL) sector. To qualify, entrants were required to submit their business case or innovative
projects online and selected candidates were then invited to join the programme for a series of capacity building initiatives.
These sessions helped the entrants polish their business pitches which were adjudicated to select a group of 10 finalists who progressed to the next round of the competition. At a full-day session modelled on the “Dragon’s Den” concept, the finalists were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of leading customers in the sector.
Wesley says that in addition to the ongoing support from South Africa’s lead enterprises in the sector, the CCTC and the Business Accelerator is only possible due to its proud and long-standing partnership with the City of Cape Town.
“Their ongoing commitment to driving the development of the CTFL industry through their support of the CCTC is exemplary. Our impact to drive localisation and growth would not be possible without such a committed public partner” Wesley concludes.
While the Dragon’s Den is over for 2021, the CCTC’s support for SMEs is ongoing. For more information on the Cluster and the various programmes available, visit https://capeclothingcluster.org.za/
