Sewing the future of entrepreneurship in South Africa

In Adelaide, a rural center near our Nxuba wind farm in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, the prolonged drought of recent years has had a very serious impact on the local economy. In this town of more than 10,000 people, unemployment has affected nearly 70% of the workforce. In South Africa, we operate 12 solar parks and wind farms, and two of them (Nxuba and Nojoli) are actually in the Eastern Cape. But the value of our plants is not only measured in terms of installed renewable capacity. Sustainability also counts, as do projects that bring improvement to the areas where we operate. Our projects often aim to reduce poverty in South Africa’s rural areas. It is precisely for this reason that the collaborative project with D'Bongs Trading, a small local sewing and laundry company founded by a female entrepreneur, Ntombodidi Dilima, came to life. Creating jobs with local businesses D'Bongs Trading has grown from 2014 up until now, thanks in part to its collaboration with Enel Green Power. EGP's support is in fact part of a broad project, primarily involving the supply of sewing and embroidery machines that have given the company the opportunity to grow and hire more staff. This growth led to a breakthrough when the company was awarded a contract for sewing covers for car parts with Mercedes-Benz’s East London plant, which became one of its largest customers. "The sewing machine financing enabled us to get the Mercedes-Benz sewing contract: we see this as the creation of new business and an avenue for offering even more to our expanding customer base," Dilima says. Training in order to grow In order to encourage D’Bongs Trading's sustained growth, we have also supported specific training courses for its employees. The courses, which are run by specialists, have enabled the company to improve its skills and provide better services and products to customers. Now D'Bongs Trading is able to meet local needs with local resources, thereby boosting Adelaide’s economic development. They’re looking into the possibility of opening a shop for uniforms because learners currently have to travel about 150kms to buy uniforms, greatly assisting the community of Adelaide and Bedford Supporting long-term entrepreneurship projects is part of our commitment to the areas in which we operate, where we create shared value with communities, in many cases providing training and materials, and revitalizing the local economy.

{{ currentMenugamenu.label }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.label }}

{{ card.title }}

{{ currentSubMenugamenu.numbers.title }}

Sewing the future of entrepreneurship in South Africa

Sewing the future of entrepreneurship in South Africa