Poverty and unemployment are high in Durban and South Africa which is why the development of entrepreneurs must be treated with a sense of urgency in order to speed up the rate of social and economic transformation.

It is this belief that led to the establishment of a fruitful ongoing partnership between a DUT alumnus and the Industry Training Unit (ITU) within DUT’s Clothing and Textile Studies Department. The partnership between the ITU and Injiya Interiors owned by Ntombi Luthuli recently resulted in the graduation of 21 people (20 women and one man) currently on their way to forming a cooperative after successfully completing technical skills training in cabinet-making, upholstery and the manufacture of decorating items as well as an NQF level 1 Entrepreneurship skills programme.

The students were trained and mentored by Injiya Trading and Projects, which is accredited with the Furniture, Pulp and Manufacturing (fp&m) Seta. Luthuli started Injiya Interiors in 2006 after completing the first NVC training programme with the ITU. Her business has grown steadily since then.

The group was originally brought together by Injiya Trading and Projects in 2010. Injiya received funding from the eThekwini Business Support Unit to provide technical skills training to potential entrepreneurs at the Umkhumbane Business Incubation Unit. While Injiya was more than capable to provide the technical skills training component, a partnership was entered into with the DUT ITU to offer an NQF Level 1 Entrepreneurship skills programme with funding received from the then CTFL SETA to prepare the group to enter the competitive business arena and to equip them with the necessary entrepreneurial skills.

ITU Coordinator Bonnie Kaplan said the development of Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) forms an important element of the South African government’s active strategy to ensure mobility between the first and second economies. This is to help alleviate poverty, create profitable opportunities for indigenous entrepreneurs and create wealth for previously disadvantaged people. “We thus believe that the development of entrepreneurs needs to be treated with a sense of urgency in order to speed up the rate of social and economic transformation because of the lack of employment and the high rate of poverty in Durban South Africa,” she said.

Kaplan said the ITU has also been awarded funding from the fp&m SETA for other training projects combined with Injiya. “One of the projects for next year we will do together is with the disabled,” said Kaplan.

– Sinegugu Ndlovu