Seda Background
The establishment and growth of small enterprises is a vital contributor in the fight against unemployment and poverty. More small enterprises mean more jobs, the development of goods and services, and improved economic prospects. In line with this thinking, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) was formed by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) in 2004 and aims to support the growth of small enterprises in South Africa. This is in order to help create a better regulatory environment for small enterprises, and to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship. Seda aims to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of small enterprises by providing needs-based programmes, products and services.
The formation of Seda integrated all government-funded small enterprise agencies, building an effective national delivery network throughout South Africa. Seda now incorporates the Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency (Ntsika), the National Manufacturing Advice Centre Trust (NAMAC), and the Community Public Private Partnership Programme (CPPP).
Seda targets small enterprises in every community of South Africa. The organization works in the emerging market, where new businesses are formed, and where they strive for sustainability and growth, as well as with existing small and medium sized enterprises which need to be more competitive and have the potential to grow and create more jobs.
Seda National Partnership Network
Seda has established a national network of branches, covering every province, district and municipality in the country. Here entrepreneurs will find a portfolio of essential services, including business registrations, business planning, tender advice, export development, access to national and international markets, and support for cooperatives, quality and productivity training. Seda programmes further aim to improve the capacity of service providers to serve small enterprises, ensuring access to essential support services, as well as facilitating access to finance and business opportunities. This means that every client who walks through Seda’s doors will always be assisted. Even when Seda does not directly provide a service, the client will be referred to a suitable course or partner.
Linked to the branches are Enterprise Information Centres (EICs) offering a range of useful information and services. In each province, Seda branches are supported by a Seda provincial office, as well as by products and services from the Seda national office in Pretoria. This ensures that all branches offer the same quality of service to entrepreneurs country-wide. By using the EIC model, existing organizations are connected and where Seda does not have a presence, they always cross-refer. This is in line with Seda’s philosophy of partnering with, rather than excluding, existing entrepreneurial support organizations. In that way Seda achieves leadership through partnership.
