Paul Masilo is one of the beneficiaries of the Chemical Industries Education & Training Authority’s (CHIETA) inaugural Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP), which is in partnership with the University of Johannesburg’s Business School and the not-for-profit chemical incubator Chemin.
He is part of the cohort that graduated from CHIETA’s inaugural Entrepreneurship EDP this year.
This initiative represents a R2 million investment in the programme and is part and parcel of CHIETA’s long-term vision to fund 2 000 young entrepreneurs by 2025.
Masilo lauded CHIETA for the vital role it played in his mouthwash business becoming a success.
He says the programme played a huge role in giving them the skills and training that will allow them to run an efficient business.
“Without the partnership between CHIETA and Chemin, I would not have gotten this far. You might have a brilliant product but you also need to be trained in various ways on how to administer and manage the business. The training provided by CHIETA is vital and crucial for our business,” he says.
CHIETA is a statutory body that was established by The Skills Development Act 97 of 1998.
As a Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA), its purpose is to facilitate skills development in the chemical industries sector and to ensure that skills needs are identified and addressed through a number of initiatives by the SETA and the sector as a whole.
CHIETA Chief Executive Officer Yershen Pillay says the SETA provides small businesses with solutions to the specific challenges they experience within the broader scope of their development.
At the start of the EDP, Pillay said that Chemin conducted surveys with the beneficiaries to identify the skills needed, which are then developed and enhanced.
“Our aim is to create sustainable and stable enterprises that are competitive and innovative and are equipped to stay abreast of national and international regulations,” he says.
He adds that the partnership we have with University of Johannesburg’s Business School Centre for Entrepreneurship, Chemin, and other stakeholders is synergistic, and is ensuring that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 
“Through the EDP, we are merging our respective niche expertise with the development and support of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) through mentorship, business development training, and technical quality assurance services, which in turn has the potential to ensure the sustainability, scalability, and profitability of the candidate SMMEs,” Pillay says.
For more information about CHIETA, you can call Head Office: 087 357 6608 or 011 628 7000, or email: info@chieta.org.za
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