If you’re an entrepreneur wanting to grow and build your SME, our programme could be for you!  

You might need a new source of inspiration; specific tools and /or resources; or could be looking for objective advice to take your business to the next level. 

You could also just be getting started on your SME journey – having registered your business and begun to trade, but might not feel like you’re making real progress getting business and converting sales. 

There are criteria that you do need to meet if you’re interested in applying for the programme however:  

• Your company must be 51% or more black-owned
• It must have been in operation for at least one year
• Your business must operate and be based within the identified municipal regions
• Your business must deliver on one or more identified services/products including:

1. Cleaning services – Cleaning, sanitation, and housekeeping change of houses.
2. Promotional clothing – Supply and delivery of branded promotional items.
3. Food products and groceries – Supply and delivery of grocery and food related products to offices and functions.
4. Supply of office photocopy paper.
5. Signage installation and removal.
6. Grass cutting – Cleaning and disposal including tree felling.
7. Civil construction – Small civil works i.e. road surfacing, road markings, road construction, road maintenance, paving, rehabilitation of asbestos mine features such as roofs and building construction.
8. Housing maintenance – General repairs, maintenance, renovations, plumbing and painting.
9. Fencing – Supply, fixing and the installation of concrete palisade, wall and clear fencing excluding Clearvu fencing and electric
10. If you have an alternative service offering you believe would add value to us or to your community, please also apply.

You must also be willing to put aside about 15 hours per month for the programme. This will include attending sessions in person and/ or virtually.  

Just click on the APPLY button.

After accepting the Terms and Conditions, you will be directed to the application form.

Remember that applications close on 7 November 2022 .

Once you have completed this, you will receive an automated email telling you what to do next. 

When your application has been reviewed, you will receive another email telling you if you have been shortlisted or not. (Please do not reply to either of these emails.) 

If you have been shortlisted, you will be invited to a compulsory virtual presentation and pitch bootcamp. At the bootcamp, you will be taken through the requirements for the pitch document you will need to send through as part of the final programme selection process. This will be evaluated by a panel, who will then select the final 80 SMEs for the programme.  

The programme has been designed to give SMEs a “hand-up” when it comes to your growth and development. 

It will offer you a combination of: 

• our Accelerator Programme training which will focus on specific aspects of your business (like marketing and sales) 
• access to an assigned mentor who will work closely with you on a one-on-one basis and in peer groups 
• access to specialist technical mentors if needed 
• ongoing assistance from a business consultant (who will help you manage your business using a Microsoft business management solution)  
• assistance to become a Sibanye-Stillwater vendor if you aren’t one already 
• assistance to become a vendor to other mines in the region
• networking opportunities 
• access to the Sibanye-Stillwater supply chain fund if you’re awarded a procurement opportunity and need cashflow assistance 
• new technology including MSOffice 365 

If you are accepted for the programme, you will then complete a comprehensive business diagnostic assessment. This assessment will form the basis of the growth plan that will be used on the programme.  

You will also be required to sign an official programme commitment letter before getting started.  

The programme will run over 18 months. This includes the application and assessment phase, as well as final close-out reporting, monitoring and evaluation.  

Applications open on 30 September 2022 and close on 7 November 2022 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to take part in the virtual presentation and pitching bootcamp in November. (This is compulsory and SMEs that don’t attend will be disqualified from further participation.) 

These SMEs will submit their pitch and proposals to be adjudicated by a panel by end November 2022.  

We will then announce the names of the 80 successful SMEs in the middle of December and formally welcome everyone onto the programme in January 2022.  

80 SMEs will be selected for the programme. 

All supporting documentation that you share with us will only be used to provide evidence of your ability to start and continue with the programme until completion. The documents submitted will be assessed and verified. 

During the application phase, you can choose to allow Phakamani Group and its affiliates to send you information about activities which are not related to the programme itself, such as information regarding workshops and training opportunities.  

All information and relevant documentation which is uploaded and submitted to Phakamani Group and its affiliates will remain your property and will not be shared with any persons or companies not related to the programme. This is as per the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. After the application phase is completed, your documents will be returned to you and all copies held by Phakamani Group and its affiliates will be destroyed.   

Successful business will demonstrate that:

• They are based in relevant community areas
• They have a business offering that is relevant to Sibanye-Stillwater
• They can scale their business offering 
• They will be able to employ more people from the mine’s doorstep communities if they scale
• They are serious about their business – and have references that prove this

Preference will be given to women and youth-owned businesses.