For a decade, the Small Business Friday movement has been passionate about supporting SMMEs and is now returning for its 11th consecutive year. Small Business Friday, which is a movement by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) and sponsored by Absa, was launched last week Friday. NSBC founder and CEO Mike Anderson said that the aim of the campaign was to galvanise the nation to give greater support to small businesses.
He believed that if small businesses were supported, they would be able to build infrastructure and employ more people from local communities to drive job creation, which Anderson described as “meaningful nation-building.” “Small Business Friday is when we salute and celebrate the mainstay of our economy and the engine of our society, placing extra emphasis on mobilising the nation to go big by supporting the small,” Anderson said.
He said that over the past 10 years Small Business Friday had gathered momentum and remained an important reminder for people to be actively involved in supporting small enterprises. “The NSBC and Absa anticipate enormous nationwide support for this unmatched and meaningful movement again this year,” he said. “It is a 365-day drive that elevates every Friday and peaks on Small Business Friday – the biggest small business day of the year, which is the first Friday of Spring every year.
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“Small Business Friday continues to put small businesses across South Africa firmly in the spotlight, by encouraging consumers, business, and government to support, visit and spend at a small business all year round, especially on Fridays and particularly on Small Business Friday,” he also said. Anderson reminded South Africans that small businesses and start-ups provided more than just jobs for community members.
“They also can improve innovation and productivity on a local level and use other businesses in the community such as accounting and IT, while larger businesses develop their own infrastructure.” Christine Wu, managing executive for Customer Value Management at Absa Retail and Business Bank, said that the launch of the campaign underscored the bank’s commitment to this vital segment and connecting individuals to communities.
“As part of broader efforts to transform the economic competitiveness of the country, Absa is fully committed to supporting SMEs along their journey by building strong relationships with them and creating innovative solutions that meet their unique needs.”
