‘It’s noble that govt is calling for preferential visas for small business owners’

The Founder of the SMME Forum Tebogo Khaas says that it’s noble that government is calling for preferential visas for small business owners to allow them to share their goods with the world.

This follows a call by mining mogul Patrice Motsepe and Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams for African nations to consider the implementation of preferential visas for entrepreneurs.

The two said during the 15th BRICS Summit, concluding on Thursday in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, that they are in support of a BRICS visa for entrepreneurs to grow economic trade among the bloc member states.

Khaas says more needs to be done to develop the sector.

“It’s a good call, we support it, it’s something noble- idealistic, but the fact of the matter is that the plight of the small business or entrepreneurs in South Africa, is still not being catered for. In fact, I was surprised to hear the same call from the government officials like the Minister Stella Ndabeni, because they know there’s a lot that still needs to happen locally, in order to empower small businesses to ensure that they can be globally competitive, in fact and be export ready. We don’t see a lot of investment in that space, and for as long as that is the case we will never be competitive.”

VIDEO: Preview of Summit outcomes on the final day:

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