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MABEDI Programme
Maruleng and Bushbuckridge Economic Development Initiative -
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The MABEDI programme area comprises the
Bushbuckridge and Maruleng district of Mpumalanga and Limpopo
Province, a rural area of almost 2500kmē situated between the
Drakensberg escarpment and Kruger National Park. This is a poor
region, shaped by an apartheid history of former homelands and
forced migration. The last official census calculated a
population of nearly 550 000 in the district, though projections
place the current population at more than 700 000. Unemployment
in Bushbuckridge is high, running between 40% and 80%, with
average household incomes ranging from R178 to R1131 per month.
According to the recent survey, there is an average of one
formal job per household (7.5 persons per household), the
majority of which are outside Bushbuckridge. Predictably, most
households fall at or below the poverty line of R700 per month.
The local economy is dominated by the public sector, while
agriculture and tourism provide the primary source of private
sector employment. |
The Business Trust has commissioned TechnoServe to identify,
launch and assist specific business opportunities. The overall
goal of this intervention is to alleviate rural poverty, create
employment, develop local skills and knowledge, and spur
economic growth in the Maruleng and Bushbuckridge region.
TechnoServe will assist a total of ten businesses over the next
4 years. This venture is split equally between start-up ventures
and existing businesses which we will help to grow. These ten
businesses are expected to generate revenues of well over R27
million once fully operational and to generate net profits of
R2.7 million. We expect to create (or support) as many as 1 500
direct and many more indirect jobs. We believe that the
programme will help establish catalysts for local economic
development and, in doing so, test and prove a replicable and
sustainable approach to establishing and growing historically
disadvantaged rural SMME’s in South Africa.
MABEDI Clients:
Exotic Banana
Products
Masana Poultry Farm
Marula Natural Products
The Motlomobe Cooperative
Makwakwa Curios
Bophelong Farmers Cooperative
Madiba Trust Balloon Farm
Belija Construction
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