Local business owners attended an informative and helpful networking event that detailed the plans of the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ).
The networking session was hosted by the West Coast Business Chamber (WCBC) and held at the Herberg Restaurant in Jacobsbaai on Thursday 26 September.
The guest speaker for the evening was the Chief Executive Officer of the SBIDZ, Kaashifah Beukes. She has been in an executive position responsible for stakeholder management since SBIDZ’s registration as a state-owned company in 2014.
Beukes is responsible and accountable to the board of directors for the management of the company and delivery of the SBIDZ’s mandate and operationalisation strategy.
Her speech focused on building a vision, sharing knowledge and delivering value.
“I am passionate about delivery that makes a difference and I think that’s why I was called to engineering, as in civil engineering and the construction industry you build something so that others can use it. You want to impart value to society and build something that lasts and has a legacy and the SBIDZ appeals to me in that way,” said Beukes.
“My team and I are vested in Saldanha and the SBIDZ and its long term with patient capital and patient investment. I want to engage with you on matters that are very material to our success, your success and our economy’s success and build that relationship further with the chamber and its members.
“We need to hustle and as business owners would know, you need to find those networks and opportunities and explore them, but you have this national and international environment that is very difficult in order for you to grow your business or thinking as an entrepreneurs seeking to start a new business,” explained Beukes.
“Also refecting on the xenophobic violence we have experienced lately, the lack of jobs and opportunities will continue to further those tensions.
“As an SBIDZ our key mandate is to capitalise and grow the economy. When we look at our economy I see structural risks at play. One is that we have large numbers of low skilled people and very small numbers of highly skilled people. “When you grow your business you need a diversity of the skill-sets. If you want a financial manager you want someone who is a CA because to balance your books is the lifeblood. Another risk is that we have spatial and racial educational inequality.
“We are in a stagnant economy and we have growth that is less than two percent and we require a growth solution. This means you need to be able to signal to business that they have confidence you invest in their business. “Us as an SBIDZ and looking at the zone, we need to stabilise the fundamentals. It’s about making the zone investment-ready, putting in the necessary infrastructure, taking out the unnecessary red-tape and ensuring that there are business support business.”
She also mentioned the importance of acknowledging the unique environment of the West Coast.
“You have Hopefield which is largely agricultural with its own value chain and opportunities, while Langebaan is largely more tourism orientated, Saldanha, which is going to be more industry orientated and you have Vredenburg which is more administrative and business orientated. “So we need to understand the complexities and unique context of all these different places and the people that live there.”
Lastly, Beukes explained that businesses owners plan for the future and must be mindful of the evolving nature of technology and how it can shape their business.
“You need to think about what 3D printing will be doing to the manufacturing industry. Or what robotics will be doing for engineering, drilling for oil and gas or fixing vessels.”
