Enterprise Development Reaches Moletši Village in Limpopo

The village of Moletši, located 53 kilometers outside Limpopo’s provincial capital of Polokwane, erupted into joyous ululation when Kgoši Kgabo Moloto and members of the community received a brand new NISSAN NP 200 from a funder with a soul, the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), on Friday, 21 July 2017.

Speaking at the event, the Divisional Executive for SME and Rural Development, Mr Setlakalane Molepo, said “among the market failures that always confront black entrepreneurs is limited own capital, and that of course is one of the many consequences of our country’s economic history”.

Productivity

He said the acquisition of a valuable asset such as a business vehicle goes a long way towards improving productivity and growth. Thus, the NEF encourages more and more private sector to support enterprise development because of its direct contribution to inclusive growth.

In November 2016 Nissan South Africa donated eight vehicles to dynamic South African entrepreneurs to support and help grow their businesses, in partnership with the NEF.

The sponsorship included four Nissan NP200 base models, one NP200 Base+ model, two NP300 Hardbodys and one NV350 panel van.

Feasibility report

The NEF, through its Strategic Projects Fund, invested R2 million in a scoping study in March 2011, which investigated the development of a communityowned commercial dairy business in the Moletši Kingdom. The project was to initially construct milk stalls across villages in the Moletši Kingdom, which would provide concentrated access for milk processors to buy milk from communities while also giving the same access for communities to sell their milk. The village milk stalls would purchase milk from local farmers and beneficiate the milk in the community-owned dairy for sale to the community, hospitals and schools in the surrounding areas.

As a whole, the Kingdom owns approximately 25,000 cattle that are valued at approximately R100 million.

Limpopo Government

Through the leadership of the Kgoshi Kgabo Moloto the community secured grant funding to the value of R7.3 million from the Limpopo Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for the establishment of the dairy, that was modeled on the NEF’s feasibility report.

In thanking both the NEF and the Provincial Government, a jubilant Kgoši Moloto made the undertaking that the community would “treat the diary as a commercial entity, as a business that must grow in order to provide jobs to members of the community and to create local economic value. The success of this enterprise will inspire new ones to emerge, and soon, our locality will begin to do more to contribute to growth”.

“We are proud of what the community has achieved, and we will continue to be part of your future prosperity. As this business grows, we see your products reaching across the country, and that, we believe, must be a medium-term goal. Our Chief Executive, Ms Philisiwe Mthethwa, has tasked us to explore other commercially viable opportunities aimed at ensuring vibrant economic activity within the Moletši community. We will soon be commencing an indepth study to help us identify viable opportunities for local economic development,” said Mr Molepo.

Beyond the village

Mr John Elliot, Assistant Director of Livestock in Limpopo’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said “among the challenges that the project has experienced has been the lack of transportation. We have had ladies carry the milk on their heads to deliver around the village. We will now have a van to transport the product, and market it beyond the village at schools and clinics”.