opportunity Archives - Page 4 of 6

DecisionSmiths Hosted the October Business Buzz

DecisionSmiths Hosted the October Business Buzz

The business community meets and networks at a Middelburg Chamber business buzz or breakfast.
Dr Christoff Prinsloo presented the systems and processes needed to make the best decision for your business. Today’s business landscape is fraught with complexity, bias pitfalls and uncertainty. Accurate decision-making has never been more important. The Decisionsmiths specialises in improving the quality of decision-making of your team through in-depth decision-maker insights and tailormade data analytics. It has never been this easy to make a visible difference in your team’s decision-making performance. Visit www.thedecisionsmiths.com for more information.

The next networking event will be Speed Networking on 24 November 2022. Invitations will be sent out in the first week of November, and RSVP as soon as possible. For more information or to host a Business Buzz, please contact Mmabatho or Christo at the MCCI office at 013 243 2253 or email info@middelburginfo.com.

Organised business met with MM

Organised business met with MM
Members of the organised business community: the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and NAFCOC, and the Hendrina Business Forum met with Mr. Mandla Nguni, the newly appointed Municipal Manager of the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM), and his team on Tuesday, 20 September 2022.

The STLM officials discussed the municipality’s 2040 growth plan. The good news is that STLM’s local economy has grown at the expected rate of 4.4%. But, warned that a doubling of the population is expected. This increase would put the infrastructure and access to water under strain without the necessary planning. The local unemployment rate will also become a significant problem without concerted action to attract manufacturing companies.

Mr. Nguni said the STLM is working hard to address all municipal services and infrastructure maintenance backlog. Issues such as protecting our electrical infrastructure are high on their agenda. He also reiterated that with the support of the organised business community, STLM will once again become the investment community of choice in Mpumalanga.

All business associations have pledged their support, and we are looking at a bright future for our town.

JET for Business: Opportunities?

JET for Business: Opportunities?
The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a congress on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, to discuss business opportunities in the Just Energy Transition (JET). MCCI President Que Naidoo opened the congress and stressed that the role of coal in the region cannot be dismissed. MCCI wanted the conversation and opportunities around JET to change from purely socio-economic development to business-oriented expansion.

Dr. Sibanda, CEO of Exilite, introduced the day. He said that we need to see JET as a system with interconnected parts. If you take out the parts of the system, the system loses its essence. One part cannot thrive if the other parts are not functioning. The economy has to adapt to the changes that are coming. We have assumed that the part of the system that concerns electricity supply has shown us that some parts of the country’s electricity supply system are not working.

Dhesigen Naidoo, Senior Advisor to the World Bank and responsible for climate adaptation in the South African President’s Climate Change Commission, spoke to the companies and they agreed to have further discussions with MCCI. How to finance renewable energy was presented by Rentia van Tonder, Head: Renewable Energy, Power & Infrastructure, Standard Bank. Wayne Glossop of Wartsila and Jean-Francois Pinharanda of Total Energy, Matola LNG Project, spoke about gas development and opportunities for JET. Is nuclear a viable part of the energy mix for JET, said Mxolisi Makhatini, Group Executive, Power and Industry, Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa.

We also looked at the accessibility of the grid, by Ronald Marais, Grid Planning from Eskom Transmission and how tariff changes could be calculated when you supply Eskom, and Feed in Tariff Changes – Shirley Salvoldi, Corporate Consultant, Electricity Pricing, and Eskom Distribution. These were very technical presentations, but they brought some clarity to the current situation.

Mike Teke, Chief Executive Officer, Seriti Resources, spoke about adapting the coal mining industry to a greener future. He began by highlighting the role that coal mining plays in the economy, that 93 000 direct jobs and 200 000 indirect jobs are associated with coal mining. He also said that Sereti is looking into wind energy in the Gert Sibande area and is also exploring other alternative energy generation. He urged everyone to take a balanced approach and explore the opportunities that are available.

At the end of the day, businesses and our members want reliable, affordable baseload power to grow our businesses and economy and keep jobs in the region. Thank you to Nashua and Standard Bank for your main sponsorships. Members interested in joining the next round of discussions can contact me at ceo@middelburginfo.com.

Export Awareness Seminar

Export Awareness Seminar
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), in collaboration with the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) and the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDT), hosted its annual export awareness seminar in Middelburg on 16 September 2022.

MEGA presented the current projects they are working on and invited the business community to contact them to participate. The Department of Science and Technology explained how they can offer tax incentives to research and development companies. Another exciting offering from the Department of Small Business Development is the SheTrade ZA Hub, where women who want to export their products can get support.

DTIC has the EMIA Export Incentive Programme for export development, which provides marketing opportunities for businesses. This incentive helps with partial travel and exhibition costs subsidies if you want to exhibit at international trade fairs.

Let us say you already export South African products and need a non-preferential certificate of origin (COO). In this case, the Middelburg Chamber offers this service to local companies. With a COO, you have access to World Trade Organisation customs regulations between countries.

For more information on all export assistance, businesses can contact MEGA at azwi@mega.gov.za. For questions and requirements at COO, you can contact Christo Stemmet at admin@middelburginfo.com.

GALAXY BINGO supports tennis in Witbank

GALAXY BINGO supports tennis in Witbank

Galaxy Bingo is one of South Africa’s leading and innovative gaming groups, with an impressive portfolio of 23 Bingo sites conveniently located across six provinces. Their hospitality portfolio comprises of 6 Galaxy Grills and 2 Galaxy Bistros, where you can enjoy delicious and tempting meals. Galaxy Bingo has a passion for sports development and nurturing young talent.

Because of this passion, Galaxy Bingo Emalahleni has sponsored 32 Witbank High School children (16 boys and 16 girls) with tennis coaching every Monday and Wednesday at their school courts. The children have also received new tennis rackets, tennis balls and T-shirts. The tennis programme aims to develop young talent and provide children with the opportunity to play in the tennis league in the 3rd quarter. A tennis league is an annual event.

The kids will also receive coaching life skills from the KPM Academy of Sport and life skills.

KPM has been an NPO based at the Middelburg Country Club for 11 years, giving children an opportunity to play, learn and score through sports. KPM Sports Academy helps children improve their mental skills, keeping them healthy, learn sportsmanship and ethics as well as life skills.

KPM has various initiatives to develop children playing sports in wheelchairs, specifically wheelchair tennis, which has recently been on TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSfRILUcRCc. Many South African children still struggle with basic needs, and sadly, this lack hampers their dreams and leaves them with no option but to resort to crime.

There is hope as NPOs give children opportunities of becoming better people. Kids News’ Didi Mookeletsi caught up with youngsters at the KPM Mentorship Centre in Avalon, Middelburg. For more news, visit sabcnews.com and #SABCNews on all Social Media platforms.

Great networking event with Twizza Business Breakfast

Great networking event with Twizza Business Breakfast
The business world connects and networks with a buzz. The Twizza Breakfast Buzz was a great success. Members of the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) enjoyed meeting and networking with other business people at the Twizza plant. The days of isolation and social distancing are over, and personal and business contacts are made at the monthly Business Buzz events. Christ Swartz and the Twizza team showed how the company started and how it has developed into the company it is today.

The next Business Buzz will be held on 18 August 2022 and will be hosted by Isuzu. Invitations will be sent out in the first week of August. RSVP as soon as possible. For more information or to host a Business Buzz, please contact Mmabatho or Christo at the MCCI office on 013 243 2253 or email info@middelburginfo.com

Middelburg hosts its own JET for Business

Middelburg hosts its own JET for Business
The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) is hosting a Just Energy Transition Congress, Just for Business, on 28 September 2022 at the Steve Tshwete Banquet Hall.

Since the Just Energy Transition (JET) concept was introduced, numerous studies have been conducted to discover how JET will affect communities. Much of the academic research focused on the skills and education levels in the Highveld region of Mpumalanga. In the meantime, the business community has started to investigate the impact JET will have on their future and how they can ensure the success and sustainability of their businesses. Many companies are already involved in green energy and have developed business products and solutions.

MCCI invites all businesses to our JET for Business Congress. We need to talk to each other about what we need and what products and solutions are available. If you have a great product or solution, please contact me to find out how your business can participate at ceo@middelburginfo.com or 013 243 2253.