IDC responds to Oppenheimer's frustration around its level of participation in SA Future Trust Summit
The Money Show follows up with the Industrial Development Corporation's Tshepo Ramodibe after an earlier interview with Jonathan Oppenheimer.
The South African Future Trust Summit 2024. Image - screengrab from Facebook
Stephen Grootes interviews Tshepo Ramodibe, Head of Corporate Affairs at the IDC.
On The Money Show on Wednesday night, Jonathan Oppenheimer expressed frustration at the perceived lack of engagement by government institutions like the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in creating a supportive environment for small business.
The businessman and philanthropist from the famed Oppenheimer family is a trustee of the South African Future Trust, which holds its 2024 Summit in Sandton next week.
Oppenheimer remarked that the Trust has ended up having to sponsor the IDC and other government entities' stalls 'because they don't see this as an important event'.
Steven Grootes follows up by interviewing Tshepo Ramodibe, the IDC's Head of Corporate Affairs, after Oppenheimer's statements.
"We're going to have 1 000-plus people at this event, and all of them would love to be able to engage with the IDC; if they're not there, they can't engage."
"It's a really sad shout-out, but if you look at who's coming to help us set up this summit... We've had extensive support from the Startup Club, 22 On Sloane... the private sector is actively trying to create an environment which is successful and supportive."
"By contrast, the team has reached out to the IDC, the NEF (National Empowerment Fund), Seda (Small Enterprise Development Agency)... a lot of these government institutions which have been set up to help small business, and we're lucky if they call us back."
Jonathan Oppenheimer, Trustee - South African Future Trust
Asked if the IDC is snubbing Oppenheimer's event, Ramodibe insists this is not the case.
He says the IDC is attending, and has been engaging with the summit's organising team about presence and contributing to what he says is a 'much-needed national conversation' around supporting entrepreneurs.
Ramodibe raises the factor of the new Government of National Unity and how the IDC has had to deal with how events are evolving in an election year.
Pressed by Grootes, he says political considerations in their decision regarding their form of participation in an event organised by the Oppenheimers were not a factor.
"I think it's unfortunate if that is the takeaway - that's not the intent, not the position taken by anybody."
"Remember our mandate speaks to industrialisation; SSMEs are a building block, a stepping stone to industrial scale... "
Tshepo Ramodibe, Head: Corporate Affairs - Industrial Development Corporation
Ramodibe clarified that the IDC had been offered a stall by the summit organisers, but it wasn't able to subscribe to the package that was presented to be a sponsor.
'We did indicate that we would be attending as we did last year', he says.
"The alignment with the GNU and supporting all these activities, has meant that we have to be in quite a few places, and we've showed up..."
"If the issue is the cost, we do on a regular basis have to prioritise and I think being at SA Auto Week (on this week), being at the Manufacturing Indaba (next week), these are the things we have to balance out..."
Tshepo Ramodibe, Head: Corporate Affairs - Industrial Development Corporation
Scroll to the top of the article to listen to Ramodibe's reply to Oppenheimer, whose earlier interview you'll find below: