Mitchell’s Plain women were enthused to boost their local community economy.
Plein Chamber of Commerce acting chief-executive officer, Karrimah Jacobs, an early childhood development centre principal and entrepreneur, encouraged the women in various business sectors to think about their role in the informal sector and what commercial power they had in keeping the money in Mitchell’s Plain.
“There are 125 000 people leaving Mitchell’s Plain to go to work. This is only the labour force who travel by public transport.
“What about the motorists and those who carpool,” she asked.
Ms Jacobs said this was money leaving the area and that about 30 percent of the country’s economy was generated by informal businesses.
She said the chamber had a vision of seeing a different Mitchell’s Plain in 2076, when the area will be a century old.
“We want to see community and economic development happening on the False Bay coast,” she said.
They want to upskill people living in Mitchell’s Plain and have its professionals, the CEOs, lawyers and architects to design and develop the area.
She said the co-operative was in the process of establishing a company, which they would like local businesses to buy shares in and keep the money in Mitchell’s Plain.
President of the Informal Economy Development Forum (IEDF), Rosheda Müller, from Lansdowne, who had started as a hawker, opened her own garment manufacturing company and was now a conduit for the government, big and small businesses to work together.
She encouraged those who were making and selling koeksisters and samoosas to formalise, be compliant and be registered.
They would like informal traders to access funding from the government.
For more information about the Plein Chamber of Commerce, contact Ms Jacobs on 076 117 1167.