Business Skills for South Africa

South Africa has won the bid to host the 2012 International Small Business Congress (ISBC), and BSSA will be indirectly involved in this major annual event.

The theme of the congress, to be held from 15 to 18 September in Johannesburg, will be “Fostering Small Business in New and High-Potential Industries Worldwide”.

At the 2010 congress held in October in Taipei City (Taiwan), South Africa pipped New Zealand to the post to host next year’s event. It will be the first time the congress is held in Africa.

The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) and the Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services (Fabcos) will co-host the 2012 ISBC.

Supporting organisations include the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), the National Small Business Advisory Council (NSBAC), the Institute of Business Advisers (IBA), the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), Khula Enterprise Finance, and the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

BSSA trustee and Osiba Research director Mr Septi Bukula heads the organising committee. BSSA deputy CEO Mrs Elize Bezuidenhout is also a member of this committee.

The ISBC has been held annually since the first event in Hawaii in 1974. This year, it will be held in Stockholm, Sweden. The event aims to bring together representatives from trade associations, governments, financial institutions, business support organisations and academic communities to exchange views about SMME business problems, and policies and programmes to assist them.

The congress typically attracts delegates from more than 60 countries, and next year promises to be no exception.

To contribute to the success of the 2012 ISBC, the organisers of the Business Opportunities and Franchise Expo have agreed to coincide their 2012 Expo with the ISBC, thus enabling ISBC delegates to visit the Expo.