The Hope Factory celebrates two decades of developing businesses and impacting communities

Celebrating a 20-year anniversary is a significant milestone for any organization but, marking two decades of consistently creating initiatives to be at the forefront of economic transformation, developing businesses, championing
entrepreneurial individuals, and positively impacting communities is a testament of The Hope Factory’s achievements. The Hope Factory Group consists of The Hope Factory (THF) and SAICA Enterprise Development (SAICA ED), which are entities that are part of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Raddison Blu hotel in Gqeberha was the venue where THF hosted close to 100 guests coming from various parts of the country. The attendees consisted of past SMME participants that have been supported in their journey of growth,
stakeholders that have partnered with THF to witness this momentous occasion, and key partners who have made it possible for THF Group to achieve their vision in playing an active role in economic transformation through advancing the sustainable growth of entrepreneurial Black-Owned Businesses.

Guests were welcomed by a vibrant marimba band and awed by the award-winning Westering High School youth choir, who made sure that hearts were touched for the next generation. The overarching theme of the event was a ‘strategies of hope’ journey, which was perfectly articulated by all the speakers. The first of the speakers was Ernest Carelse – the Chairperson of the Hope Factory and SAICA Enterprise Development who gracefully opened the event with a synopsis of three areas that have led to the success of THF and further words of encouragement and inspiration. Robert Zwane, Executive Director: Learning, Development and National Imperatives of SAICA, followed as the second speaker of the day and touched on the Hope Factory's transformation practices and growth opportunities.

Annie McWalter, The Hope Factory and SAICA Enterprise Development Chief Executive Officer, was the third speaker who elaborated on The Hope Factory’s business journey by mentioning both the highs and lows, but ultimately the
wonderful triumphs that have been achieved within the 20 years. 

Annie continued, “We believe that we are about to pivot once more as we want to explore with key partners how to continue expanding our national footprint of entrepreneurship development; to bring about financial excellence in
SMMES together with SAICA associated Small and Medium Accounting practices; Professionalising the space of SMME development from Micro businesses all the way up to established Small businesses; and Assisting corporates with their ESG strategies”.

Annie also led a panel discussion that included past SMME participants, who were positively impacted by our programme offerings (Eschel Liesering, founder of Plateau Solutions and Mosa Dikobo, Founder of Citrus Green Solution) and Nicolette Liberty (The Hope Factory and SAICA Enterprise Development, Human Resources Manager), who took the guests through her professional growth journey (coming to The Hope Factory first as a programme participant
herself) and her passion now for placing unemployed graduates in job opportunities and involvement in the programmes for job-readiness.

We are proud to have the track record that we have had so far; but we would like to build an even bigger impact driven footprint. Since inception we have empowered 3024 SMME’s; we have impacted 2593 Social Economic Development Participants (both entrepreneurship and unemployed youth streams); 472 Youth graduates have been impacted with work experience; we have partnered with 147 SAICA associated Small Medium Practices to bring the Financial Excellence Offering to SMMEs and we have undertaken 401 number of projects across South Africa.

The Hope Factory is and entity of SAICA and delivers impactful programs that: Mobilise economic activity by enabling unemployed Black South Africans to generate their own income; Contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of "Eradicating Poverty" (SDG 1); and provide dynamic entrepreneurial initiatives to empower small businesses from startup to sustainable success. It offers impactful Socio-Economic Development and Skills Development Programmes.

SAICA Enterprise Development is an entity of SAICA and houses strategic Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes and customised projects to grow South Africa's entrepreneurial sector through advancing the sustainable growth of small Black-owned businesses. It offers Financial Excellence to entrepreneurs through the Chartered Accountancy profession and contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal that speaks of Creating Decent Work and Economic Growth.

For more info, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]