Cape City, 22 November 2024 – With the announcement of the 2024 Board Improvement Fund (BDF) recipients, Cape City Tourism is proud to empower two deserving companies via funding and mentorship. This yr, the fund recognises Imbizo African Espresso Co and MSI ShoeShine and Providers, persevering with its greater than a decade-long legacy of supporting companies very important to the native financial system.
Since its inception in 2013, the BDF has offered monetary and strategic assist to dozens of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), fostering development, innovation, and sustainability in Cape City’s financial system. This yr’s recipients will obtain funding and tailor-made mentorships to broaden their operations, increase effectivity, and showcase the entrepreneurial resilience that defines Cape City’s enterprise group.
Based in 2017, Imbizo African Espresso Co sources premium beans from small-scale Truthful-Commerce farmers throughout Africa. Proprietor Xoliswa Tyeya operates a espresso bar on Lengthy Road, provides native retailers, and steadily showcases her merchandise at occasions.
“This assist is a game-changer for us! With the brand new tools we’ll buy, we’ll enhance productiveness, enhance effectivity, and safe extra retail partnerships. It’s an unimaginable alternative for development, growth, and creating new jobs.”
MSI ShoeShine and Providers has offered skilled shoe cleansing, leather-based rehabilitation, and resort reward store administration for eight years. The corporate additionally champions inclusivity by using folks with disabilities.
Proprietor Anda Mthulu, an individual with a incapacity, says the funding will empower MSI to make use of 5 further folks with disabilities and broaden into different inns and purchasing centres.
“I see my enterprise develop. I see my enterprise increasing. This funding means so much to me personally. We at the moment are capable of prepare after which make use of extra folks with disabilities from deprived communities.”
Each recipients will take part in a 12-month progress-monitored mentorship programme. The funding shall be paid in quarterly tranches after the approval by mentors and Cape City Tourism’s Chief Vacation spot Officer.
Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape City Tourism, celebrated the recipients’ achievements:
“As Cape City’s official Vacation spot Advertising and marketing Organisation, we’re dedicated to empowering SMMEs which can be integral to our metropolis’s tourism sector. The BDF allows companies to scale, innovate, and encourage via money rewards and mentorship. These recipients epitomise the entrepreneurial spirit that makes Cape City not only a vacation spot, however a group of innovators.”
Tracy Mkhize, Chairperson of Cape City Tourism’s Board, highlighted the fund’s broader influence:
“The Board Improvement Fund is a testomony to what might be achieved once we put money into native expertise. Imbizo African Espresso Co and MSI ShoeShine and Providers will not be simply companies – they’re examples of how entrepreneurship drives inclusivity, creates jobs, and contributes to our shared financial future. We’re honoured to assist their journeys.”
Earlier BDF beneficiaries, together with Jeep Excursions Cape City and ABCD Ideas, have achieved important development and worldwide recognition, demonstrating the fund’s worth to each particular person companies and Cape City’s broader financial system.
Cape City Tourism stays dedicated to championing native companies, fostering a thriving small enterprise sector, and celebrating the innovation and resilience of Cape City’s entrepreneurial group.
