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To advance rural economic development in the Eastern Cape, WSU and OR Tambo Municipality, are gearing up to host 15 local small-scale businesses for the Rural Economy and Livelihood Exposition at Ports St John’s Local Municipality in September.
The event, carried out through the Small-scale Agribusiness and Non-Farm Enterprises (SANRE) WSU research niche area, aims to provide critical insight into rural financial development, interactive Communication Technologies (ICT) in rural business, and tourism for small business communities and government enterprises.
“The main objective of the rural economy and livelihood exposition is to present some of our recent research findings on rural business to the municipality managers and small business community in OR Tambo. We also want to begin a short learning, program on small business management with selected business owners in the district.” said niche area leader, Dr Yiseyon Hosu.
He added, “We are targeting emerging, established, and profitable small businesses to create an opportunity for them to learn from one another, enhancing and enriching their shared lessons.”
One of the critical research concepts to be tackled is the impact of financial inclusion and literacy on sustainable small businesses, will look at how access to financial services and knowledge affects the viability and growth of small enterprises.
Meanwhile, the research topic on managing local tourism through African experiences profitably will focus on leveraging unique cultural and natural assets to drive sustainable tourism development.
Hosu said, “Business owners will gain more insight from our presentations and will receive the opportunity to learn from each other and be able to get into the short learning skill course free of charge. However, subsequent access to our short learning program will be at a cost.”
According to Hosu, the programme will be adapted to fit the education levels of participants, including those without formal schooling.
He said, “The programme aims to help people in the impoverished O.R. Tambo region learn how to generate income, addressing high unemployment and illiteracy rates.”
This partnership stems from a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022 between WSU and ORTM, that permits WSU to produce relevant, innovative, and impactful research that will champion sustainable and just development in the EC.
“The collaboration with the municipality is a proactive step, demonstrating our commitment to deepening the MoU to improve the people's livelihood through research, capacity building, and other community engagement activities,” said Hosu.
By Ongezwa Sigodi
