Shell Southern Africa - Business
Department of Labour - Government
West Coast Business Development Centre - NGO

This project is based in the impoverished West Coast area of Saldanha Bay. The project forms part of the job creation initiatives embarked on in the country through Public and Private Sector Partnerships.

Shell provided 10 hand sewing machines to a group of local women lacking in all business and technical skills and conducted basic business skills training of the them through the Shell Livewire programme. The Dept. of Labour sponsored technical training. The West Coast Business Development Centre facilitated the process and provided mentoring for the group. The women now have the skills to start their own Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs). A group of 8 women have obtained a loan from the Nation´s Trust to start their own enterprise and have already secured several contracts, including one with Shell.

Environmental: The Department of Environmental Affairs has introduced fishing quotas to combat the depletion of fish resources in South Africa. By promoting manufacturing industry, there is reduced local dependence on the fishing industry.

Economics: The project is a financial success. It has created employment and the women starting up their own SMEs are receiving contracts for garment manufacuture from local companies and Shell. This will enable them to pay off the initial loan.

Society: The Saldanha Bay is rife with unemployment and this project has succeeded in teaching life long skills to women who are then able to both utilise those skills in business and pass them on to other women in the community. The project has also created a sense of community and spirit among the local women.

1. Indicators of Success:

· The group of unemployed women who were trained and equipped in sewing/garment making skills have successfully started their business enterprise, called Intshona Workwear.

· Local companies in the area such as Saldanha Steel, Sea Harvest and Namaqua Sands, use Intosha Workwear as the supplier for their staff uniforms.

· The business has been granted R300 000.00 worth of contracts.

· Customers from the local communities place orders with this sewing business for items like school uniforms, track suits and household garments (curtains, duvet covers, pillow cases and sheets).

2. Monitoring and evaluation programme:

West Coast Business Development Centre which mentors and coaches the women submits quarterly reports to Shell on the status of the enterprise regarding cashflow of the business, demand from the market, customer base, turnover, profit margins. Shell undertakes regular on-site visits to conduct interviews with the women. Interviews are also conducted with the customers from local community to assess their awareness and satisfaction with the service they are getting from the enterprise. South African Government’s Department of Labour, which sponsored technical skills training for these women, also provides feedback to Shell on the status of the enterprise and its viability.

3. External audit:

· Peninsula Technikon’s Clothing & Textile Department has done an audit focusing specifically on product quality.

· The Department of Labour conducted a second audit focusing on the job creation potential of the enterprise and expansion.

For additional information, please contact:

Ms Gadija Asvat - Production Manager

Tel. (022) 714 1731

Fax. (022) 714 2015

Email: westbus4@intekom.co.za

The project forms the ideal pilot for similar communities in Southern Africa.

There is a similar project in Khayelitsha (a formal black township in Cape Town) called Learn to Earn. This offers practical courses to the community so that they are able to develop their own SMEs. Shell is currently in the process of finalising its partnership with the project along the same lines as the West Coast Project. The involvement of the Dept. of Labour is still being explored.

The West Coast Pilot could be easily implemented in similar black townships where there are many women lacking in skills and the accessability to develop them.

The project takes people through the learning curve in a holistic manner that first enables them to develop self-confidence and practical skills and then inspires them to be entrepreneurs.

The project was innovative in that it was able to take the basic dream/idea of the people and translate it into a practical and workable business enterprise.

The Dept. of Labour sponsored the technical skills training, Shell through Social Investment funding, sponsored the hand sewing machines as well as providing the business skills training through the Live Wire programme. The West Coast Business Development Centre provides the ongoing mentorship of the women, helping them to understand all aspects of running a business.

The challenge from all sides was whether the project would actually work and the perseverance to persist in the development of the project. Communication is always a problem, as was access to the project from Cape Town as the area is in a very remote West Coast area

The commitment of the three partners contributed to the success of the project and the genuine support from the local businesses and stakeholders

The lessons learnt were that social investment can be turned into partnerships that will guarantee a good return on investment and that small enterprises will be a key feature in assuring our economic sustainability.