How entrepreneurs have found their feet in the Western Cape’s SME economy

For years, Chalandra Naidoo felt like he was building his business on the margins.

Operating in the Western Cape’s fast-growing but fragmented small business ecosystem, Naidoo struggled to find a formal SME network that felt accessible, inclusive and big enough to matter. Support structures existed, but they were often narrow in focus, privately funded and difficult to break into.

“There are incubators and accelerators here, but most are niche and very small,” said Naidoo, a consultant principal at CEO Squad, a technology-focused firm helping businesses turn ideas into market-ready solutions.

“What was missing was a collective something province-wide, where you could share knowledge, access expertise and grow with other businesses facing the same challenges,” he said.

That sense of exclusion began to lift three years ago, when Naidoo joined the SME Rise Capital Matching Initiative. Today, he is one of more than 1,000 Western Cape entrepreneurs who say the programme has not only helped their businesses survive, but given them the confidence to grow.

Launched as a partnership between the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Western Cape department of economic development and tourism (Dedat), SME Rise was designed to connect small and medium enterprises with investors and funding partners. But for many participants, its impact has gone far beyond access to capital.

“Since joining the programme, we’ve been able to employ up to 15 people directly,” Naidoo said. “But what really excites me is what’s happening with our clients.”

One healthcare project CEO Squad is supporting is expected to create an additional 60 jobs over the next two years at a single site.

For the first time, it feels like small businesses like ours are not knocking from the outside; we are finally part of the conversation.

—  Chalandra Naidoo, consultant principal at CEO Squad

“This programme helped us think differently. It gave us networks, confidence and a sense that we belong in this economy,” he said.

Small businesses, real impact

Last week, the JSE and Dedat shared the outcomes of their three-year collaboration. Nationally, nearly 2,500 SMEs have been supported, with over 1,000 based in the Western Cape. Collectively, participating businesses increased employment from 4,364 to 5,436 jobs and grew combined revenues from R3.2bn to more than R4.5bn.

But behind the numbers are stories of entrepreneurs navigating uncertainty, red tape and limited access to finance.

Through the programme’s capital-matching model, Western Cape SMEs have already secured more than R36m in funding, with another R40m in the pipeline. Just as important has been access to mentorship, technical support and growth acceleration, resources many small businesses cannot afford on their own.

Learning what really helps businesses grow

Rashid Toefy, Dedat’s deputy director-general, said the initiative began as an ambitious idea shared over coffee in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“We thought the answer was simply to find people funding. But running a business isn’t linear, and money alone doesn’t guarantee success,” he said.

That lesson reshaped the programme. Of the SMEs that participated, 280 completed intensive training focused on readiness, strategy and governance. In the first year, businesses raised more than R11m in capital, more than doubling that figure to R25.6m in the second year.

“Behind every number is a person trying to make a business work,” Toefy said. “And when a small business grows, its suppliers grow, its workers support families, and entire communities benefit.”

Growth that includes everyone

Minister of small business development Stella Tembisa Ndabeni said SMEs remain central to South Africa’s economic future.

“Our growth will not be driven only by large companies. It will come from thousands of small businesses across townships, rural areas and cities, from women entrepreneurs, young innovators and business owners who refuse to give up,” she said.

She acknowledged the gap many entrepreneurs face between building a viable business and securing funding.

“This initiative helps close that gap. It shows that access to finance is also about capability, connections and preparation,” she said.

A legacy beyond the programme

JSE head of SME development Cleola Kunene said the partnership demonstrated the power of collaboration.

“When government and business work together with purpose, we unlock opportunity. Even as this formal partnership concludes, the relationships and access created for these SMEs will endure,” Kunene said.

For Naidoo, the impact is already clear.

“For the first time, it feels like small businesses like ours are not knocking from the outside; we are finally part of the conversation,” he said.

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