DURBAN - Helping emerging entrepreneurs is the main aim of the Radical Economic Transformation Conference and Expo.
The conference is hosted by the eThekwini Municipality and the Federation for Radical Economic Transformation.
The two-day conference will have SMME's engaging with various stakeholders including the private sector so that those businesses can grow.
Municipality councillor Busi Ndlovu called RET (Radical Economic Transformation) an urgent issue that people need to engage on. Ndlovu said:"We are not just keen about radical economic transformation but were are putting our money where our mouth is."
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According to the spokesperson for FRET, eThekwini Municipality is the first municipality to adopt radical economic transformation and the first municipality to have a RET framework.
The Durban city manager for Economic Development and Planning said that people with small businesses that are bidding for big contracts do not have the experience needed to handle that type of contract.
This, the manager said, results in them losing money because they do not know how to the job. The RET conference will have incubation programmes to help small businesses deal with that problem as well as develop the necessary skills to handle big contracts.
Head of Supply Chain Management for the municipality, Andre Petersen, spoke about the process of tenders and how contracts are awarded to businesses.
Peterson also spoke about the need for development among women, youth, military veterans and the disabled so these groups may become involved in business and also be able to tender for contracts too.