{"id":249781,"date":"2023-02-10T23:23:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T21:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=128344"},"modified":"2023-02-10T23:23:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T21:23:11","slug":"sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker\/","title":{"rendered":"SA retailers say local is lekker!"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>2023 eThekwini Furniture Cluster Accelerator seeks homegrown talent<\/p>\n<p>Are you a black-owned business that has what it takes to become the next supplier to South Africa\u2019s leading corporates in the furniture sector? While some people might believe that success is all about luck, the eThekwini Furniture Cluster (EFC) knows it\u2019s all about hard work and commitment to your dream, and now the Business Accelerator is your chance to prove it!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe local furniture sector has a significant influence on employment, industrialisation and local competitive advantage. This is because it has the third largest labour force in the country and low barriers to entry,\u201d explains Takalani Rathiyaya, Head of the Economic Development Unit at eThekwini Municipality. \u201cImproving the capability and capacity of the industry is, therefore, a priority for economic development in South Africa,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>By connecting high-potential SMEs to big business, the EFC Business Accelerator aims to do just that. \u201cThe Accelerator offers SMEs the rare opportunity to demonstrate their potential to big customers like Homewood, Mr Price Home and @home, and ultimately can go on to become their next strategic suppliers. The way it works, is that small businesses are given an opportunity to pitch to large customers, in a Dragons\u2019 Den format, detailing what they believe makes their business unique and competitive. The winners then have a chance to access new sales, financing, expert technical insights, and support to scale their business.\u201d explains Kyle Ballard, Head of Accelerators at the EFC.<\/p>\n<p>Recognising that SMEs are the backbone of South Africa\u2019s economy, big leading retailers such as Mr Price Home, Homewood and @home are committed to driving change in their supply chain. These three companies have joined forces with the EFC Business Accelerator to find future, local suppliers, particularly manufacturers and suppliers with sustainability offerings in the areas of cost-efficient packaging, raw materials, and innovative logistics solutions. As a result, they are already transforming the lives and businesses of those entrepreneurs identified as high-potential suppliers in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the EFC prize-winners in the 2021 Dragons\u2019 Den were three woman-led businesses:<\/p>\n<p>Alifurn (Best Business Case Award)<br \/>MAD Design Studios (Most Promising or Innovative Business Award)<br \/>Woman\u2019s Vision Primary Cooperative (High Impact Award)<\/p>\n<p>Having won cash prizes of up to R15 000 each on the day, the real impact of the Accelerator went beyond this when these SMEs, including another shortlisted contender (Pine Timber Board Express), received letters of interest from the retailers which unlocked exciting commercial opportunities for each of them.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to take your business to the next level, get ready to demonstrate your potential! Apply to the EFC Accelerator now for the rare opportunity to pitch your business to Homewood, Mr Price Home and @home who are eager to find their future local suppliers.<\/p>\n<p>ETHEKWINI FURNITURE CLUSTER (EFC)<\/p>\n<p>Applications (now open) close: 28 February 2023<\/p>\n<p>Apply here: https:\/\/furniturecluster.org.za\/the-business-accelerator\/<\/p>\n<p>Download the Accelerator info pack here: https:\/\/lnkd.in\/d23Raer2<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za for free<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Press Release Views since 1 July 2022:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">62<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. 2023 eThekwini Furniture Cluster Accelerator seeks homegrown talent Are you a black-owned business that has what it takes to become the next supplier to South Africa\u2019s leading corporates in the furniture sector? While some people [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":249782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021,1],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-249781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"category-south-africa","9":"tag-mypr","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/sa-retailers-say-local-is-lekker.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}