Sasolburg, Free State, South Africa – Sasol and the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) today launched the Sasol Business Incubator (SBI) in Sasolburg, which is aimed at accelerating the successful development of mainly local start-up small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and promote their sustainability in the manufacturing sector.

“We are proud to have partnered with the dti in realising the SBI, which will bring to life the vision of growing the manufacturing sector as a strategic driver of the South African economy. As a proud contributor to South Africa’s economic development, we believe that stimulating entrepreneurial activity has significant potential in enhancing industrial growth,” said Maurice Radebe, Executive Vice President: Energy Business.

Developed under the auspices of Sasol’s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) department, the SBI is located on the 172 -hectare Eco-industrial Park (EIP) in the industrial heart of Sasolburg, which was developed to host a diverse mix of SMMEs that can support each other to ensure the sustainability of their businesses and create employment opportunities for the communities in the area. . The EIP currently boasts 151 stands which are fully serviced and available for sale at competitive prices.

The SBI comprises five individual buildings that occupy a total of 4000m2 and includes access to fully equipped manufacturing facilities and essential business infrastructure.

The incubator model supports SMMEs in two distinct phases namely – physical and virtual incubation. Physical incubation support ranges from 3 to 12 months, during which time the start-up enterprise engages in the commercialisation of its product with dedicated support from a Sasol Business Incubation Specialist after which they graduate and exit the SBI with the intention of establishing their enterprise within the Eco-Industrial Park. During the virtual phase, the enterprise continues to receive support from a Sasol Business Incubation Specialist for an additional 24 months to ensure sustainability.

“This is an exciting development and we will continue, as we always have, to be an active South African corporate citizen in helping realise our collective national goals,” concluded Radebe.