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The drive for sustainable economic growth and development has SA government and corporates looking to enterprise and supplier development as the means to grow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and create jobs.
That is why Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) partnered with Smart Procurement World to host the 3rd annual Enterprise and Supplier Development Expo and conference in Durban. It put the focus on the core theme of "Today's Investment in Enterprise Development is Tomorrow's Security Supply".
Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu has indicated that small businesses should account for as much as 85% of SA's gross domestic product (GDP), but without assistance and access to big business, these SMEs remain locked out.
"Radical economic transformation and job creation is high on government's agenda. As a state-owned company TPT is committed to implementing this agenda and our involvement in this recent expo demonstrates that," said Thandi Sabelo, TPT executive manager for supply chain management.
The tradeshow assisted over 200 SMMEs, hosted by corporates and showcased to core buying teams, in attempts to get tenders. It enabled them to network with potential buyers and ultimately sign business deals.
TPT also sponsored five SMMEs to showcase their businesses at the exhibition.
SMMEs also attended a one-day smart supplier conference, giving them the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, develop new business partnerships and ignite their collective business power.
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