South African, Anglo American Announces Incubator Program

Anglo American, a mining firm based in South Africa, has started an incubator program through Zimele, it’s business development division.

The program will primarily support young and female-owned firms in the North West, Limpopo, and Northern Cape provinces, which are close to the company’s operations. The objective is to assist 500 new firms in rural areas in becoming enduring and prosperous enterprises.

Participants will have access to training, coaching, and resources to help them hone their business models during each of the three phases, which will each be provided at three different locations with 25 entrepreneurs participating in each phase. Additionally, it will help them locate and connect with their target markets and test their goods and services. Partners include Absa, Summit, and TechnoServe.

According to Larisha Naidoo, CEO of Zimele, “the initiative was created to get entrepreneurs to move their business from zero revenue to commercially viable businesses that may benefit the overall economic health of communities around the company’s mining and processing operations in South Africa.”