RMI forms partnership to drive transformation

In a concerted move to rev up the pace of transformation and provide support for smaller businesses within the informal automotive sector, the Retail Motor Industry Organisation, representing approximately 8 500 member businesses in the automotive aftermarket, has embarked on an exciting business development programme for its National African Association of Automobile Service Providers (NAAASP) members.

Nonhlanhla (Noni) Tshabalala, RMI HR Manager and Transformation Director, says the programme’s stakeholders include SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency) and its sister agency, SEFA (Small Enterprise Finance Agency), to help provide RMI NAAASP members with the necessary enterprise development support and access to both funding and markets, with the ultimate objective of becoming formal Accredited RMI member businesses.

Ipeleng Mabusela, RMI CEO Strategy and Corporate Support, says transformation is far more than just BEE compliance. “It is much bigger, and as a leading voice in the automotive aftermarket sector, RMI wants to encourage existing businesses to find ways of supporting small business, pulling in the thousands of informal businesses that exist in the sector.” Eighty percent of accredited RMI business owners are in fact small to medium-sized business owners and this is where the growth and employment opportunities that are going to drive the economy will come from. “If we can start migrating the informal businesses into the formal sector so that they become compliant and meaningful contributors to the economy, we will have a far stronger sector,” he says.

The programme will initially kick off with 149 NAAASP members. SEDA will assign beneficiaries to their respective branches based on their geographical location. Tshabalala says SEDA can then conduct the necessary assessments to identify existing gaps before embarking on a comprehensive programme, including business, financial and production and marketing modules, all designed to capacitate and develop these informal businesses into sustainable business units that are now ready to participate in the mainstream economy. She says this is where SEFA’s involvement is then so key to assist with financial support in the form of loan and grant funding. “The programme is so important because by the time we reach this stage, the businesses have already gone through a rigorous programme and are ready to acquire the necessary tools and equipment to become RMI accredited and compliant. RMI, through any one of its eight associations, can then step in and facilitate access to market and even open the door to additional funding,” she says.

Mabusela agrees saying it is critical for the RMI to strengthen its current partnerships with agencies like SEDA and SEFA so it can provide an environment in which small business programmes can thrive and provide authentic, meaningful support.