We all know that the recent riots in South Africa have added to the pressure faced by the SMEs; Hippo.co.za reached out to help 10 businesses rebuild.
South Africa (20 August 2021) – 98 percent* of businesses in South Africa are represented by Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs). More than 50 percent of the South African workforce are employed by SME’s, making them a crucial factor of business growth in South Africa. These SME’s have taken the brunt force of the pandemic, suffering immensely.
Amidst these hard times, Hippo.co.za partnered with East Coast Radio in KwaZulu-Natal and 947 in Gauteng to reach out to the small businesses of South Africa. A campaign was launched to raise funds and support 10 small businesses in each of these two provinces.
#GetBackToBusiness started trending on social media, and soon 10 lucky businesses were chosen. Over a two-week period, five small businesses from KwaZulu-Natal and five from Gauteng each received the news that they had won R20,000 in cash, as well as R5,000 to rebuild their business with the essential fibre access.
Hippo.co.za started this campaign to provide people with better choices during unexpected situations such as the pandemic or, more recently, the rioting. Helping them with making the right decisions with regards to their businesses.
“We’re looking to help small enterprises, with solid business models, which were – through no fault of their own – negatively impacted by the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Many SMEs saw their entire physical infrastructure destroyed during the looting; we’d like to help them rebuild.” said Bradley du Chenne, Hippo.co.za
True to their word, Hippo has managed to create a positive impact for businesses with their campaign. Helping many ‘get back to business!’
Astral Marketing and Services in Durban is one of the companies that has been selected and benefitted immensely from this campaign. Owner Theshan Naidoo required financial assistance immediately as the pandemic disrupted a big part of their cash flow. Having previously employed nine people, the business has adapted but only managed to retain three employees during the height of the pandemic. Theshan hopes to rebuild and bring back the staff he has lost during this time.
“We had to let go 6 staff members in 12 months due to the adversity of covid-19 and we are currently left with 3 staff members, we would definitely love to have our 6 staff members back as we duly miss their presence in the workplace, they are absolutely valuable assets.”
The recent riots also resulted in the severe vandalisation of their equipment. Theshan has mentioned that the money received through this campaign will be used to restore the equipment and rebuild their customer base. The funds received from this campaign had been a saving grace for their business, according to the words of the owner, Theshan Naidoo.
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Aladia’s Kitchen, based in Gauteng, is another company that has been saved by the funds from the campaign.
Business owner, Aladia Mahomed, says that the funds will go to refilling her display fridges and getting stock levels back to normal. This, in turn, will increase production, thereby increasing their sales as a whole.
Currently employing eight staff members, they hope to expand and create more jobs. The plan is to open their third Aladia’s Kitchen branch in Meadowdale by October 2021 and have a total of five branches before the end of December 2021.
Aladia plans to give back to her community, and with the funding from Hippo.co.za, that dream is becoming a reality.
“Aladia’s Kitchen is involved in feeding schemes. We assist families that are in need. I am involved in assisting women who are Survivors of GBV. ” – Aladia Mahomed
Later this month, Aladia will be doing a talk for women at a shelter in her community and sharing her own story of overcoming abuse. It is the story that inspired her to start her business.
The #GetBacktoBusiness campaign has become a ray of hope for many of the SME’s who were under the pressures caused by the pandemic and the recent riots in South Africa. Hippo hopes that their services will assist those in this campaign and all businesses in South Africa looking for insurance quotes and the right cover. These factors will act as a booster for the SME’s to get back the flow of business they had lost in the pandemic.
Stay tuned as each week we share two new stories about SME’s in South Africa getting ‘back to business’ with Hippo.co.za.
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