Cape Town: The City extends FurnTech partnership till 2034 to boost township economy, confirms Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth and Tourism – Alderman James Vos.
Reportedly, the City of Cape Town has extended its partnership with FurnTech in Nyanga until 2034. The bond has secured a long-term support for this important centre that equips furniture makers and small manufacturers with the tools, space and skills to grow their businesses.
Furthermore, the FurnTech Centre serves as a technical skills development Centre where they are equipping and empowering unemployed youth from the surrounding areas with an employable technical skill in woodwork manufacturing to be employed by the industry or to start their own small-business.
James Vos acknowledged this achievement and said that it has been made possible through the dedicated work of the Economic Development and Investment Department of the City of Cape Town, along with the Property Transactions Department.
These teams have played a key role in finalising the agreement and in using the asset base and innovative approaches to turn municipal properties into centres of excellence.
He highlighted that here, the new small businesses are emerging swiftly and are gaining greater access to the markets. Also, creating jobs in the township economy.
Vos said that since after appointed as Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth, he has visited FurnTech to see firsthand how this facility is allowing entrepreneurs to thrive.
He confirmed that he was also the guest of honor in handing out the certificates and tools to a group of learners who completed a technical training programme. And that’s why it is wonderful to now support the continuation of a partnership that was there to see at the start.
Alderman James Vos further stated that from the outset, the City of Cape Town has backed this initiative. He mentioned that they made the City-owned depot space available in 2013 at a nominal lease. It was then assisted with interior fit-out and co-contributed towards specialised equipment.
The also provided a R500,000 grant to help in establishing FurnTech as a woodworking and light manufacturing centre. As a Trust and NPO, FurnTech has successfully operated the facility for the past 10-years. This also supported the establishment of 94 small businesses, this is directly overseeing the creation of 158 jobs with small business skills development in Nyanga.
FurnTech also trained 149 learners at the Nyanga centre. Because of this extensive work, FurnTech has become an established and reliable site for the community for manufacturing small businesses.
Notably, this support enables FurnTech to maintain its focus on developing small business owners instead of paying high rental costs. Extending this partnership gives entrepreneurs the certainty and stability that they need to grow, create jobs, and contribute to inclusive economic growth in the township and metro.