South African Govt seeks WA advice on setting up small businesses

20/6/95

South Africa is learning from Western Australia's expertise in encouraging and supporting small regional businesses.

WA advice has been eagerly sought by the new South African Government to help it establish policies for building small business.

South Africa's interest in WA small business development programs was prompted by the visit of Deputy Premier and Small Business Minister Hendy Cowan to the country last year and a follow-up visit by State Enterprise Centre manager Bruce Thorpe, who addressed a major small business conference recently.

"South Africa recognises the potential of small business as the backbone of its growing economy, just as it is of ours," Mr Cowan said today.

"It is in our interest to pass on our expertise in supporting small business.  In the long term, it will help develop a stronger South African economy and allow South African business to contribute to partnerships with WA businesses. That will be of benefit to both countries."

Mr Cowan said a White Paper on developing small business - now adopted as policy by the South African Government - reflected many WA strategies.

"In particular, South Africa is keen on promoting community-based local support centres similar to our Business Enterprise Centres (BECs)," he said.

"It is looking at setting up some 2,000 such centres with the help of international aid funding."

WA has 36 BECs, which are shopfront operations supported by local communities to provide a gateway to the wide range of State and Federal Government services available to small business.

"South Africa's middle-level businesses are now facing the same forces of international competition that similar Australian businesses have been addressing for the past few years," Mr Cowan said.

"They recognise that one way for them to cope is to adopt better management practices through services like Australia's NIES-Better Business Programs."

Mr Bruce Macfarlane, State NIES business manager within the Department of Commerce and Trade, had met senior South African Government officials to explain how the NIES programs could be adapted to meet the needs of their small to medium-sized enterprises.

"The Federal Government has asked WA to take the initiative in South Africa and promote NIES services there," Mr Cowan said.

"We are working closely with the office of South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Trevor Manuel, in this area.

"We see these efforts as a way of helping build the economy of the region generally.

"They tie in with other efforts we are making, such as last week's International Forum on the Indian Ocean Region, held in Perth, which brought together key, high-level representatives from 23 Indian Ocean countries."

Media contact: Peter Jackson 222-9595