Small business owners and decision-makers in Ekurhuleni are invited to a first-of-its-kind SME Growth Summit 2024 at Emperors Palace on July 17, supported by Caxton Local Media.
The summit is the brainchild of local business owners Alistair Gordon and Andrew Wainwright, the founders of Community Business Owners (CBO), an initiative that has created a fast-growing platform for local business owners to regularly connect, engage and network.
They already have ‘chapters’ in Bedfordview, Edenvale, Boksburg and Benoni, and are fast expanding to other areas, with interest coming in from as far afield as Durban and Cape Town.
Gordon said their upcoming SME Growth Summit 2024 provides a unique opportunity for local SME business owners and the wider business and corporate community to gather, learn together, and connect.
“It is the perfect place to start building meaningful relationships and growing community businesses together.
“We are excited to have Caxton Local Media on board as a media partner and on our list of prestigious guest speakers who will be talking on the topic of the power of print and digital media.
“All our guest speakers are experts in their fields. SMEs will hear from the horse’s mouth, topics we believe are growth levers that can take their businesses to the next level.”
Find all the information you need about the SME Growth Summit 2024 and how to register at https://events.cboconnect.co.za/SMEGrowthSummit2024
About the SME Growth Summit 2024
- When: July 17
- Where: Emperors Palace Convention Centre
- Time: 08:30 to 16:30
- Theme: Growth Levers to Explode your Business.
- Who should attend: Business owners, decision-makers, solopreneurs, and freelancers.
- Cost: Pricing varies (early bird discounts apply). Find all the pricing at https://events.cboconnect.co.za/SMEGrowthSummit2024
Guest speakers:
1. Andrew Bourne (regional manager Africa, Zoho Corporation) on digital transformation and business operating systems.
2. Megan Dedekind (area manager of business investments – Pretoria, Business Partners) on growth and expansion funding.
3. Allon Raiz (founder and CEO, Raizcorp) on business and strategy development.
4. Caxton Local Media (speaker to be advised) on the power of print and digital media.
5. Precious Chindongo (founder, Prebo Digital) on artificial intelligence.
An added bonus: Look forward to SME success stories and multiple networking sessions.
Book/register: www.cboconnect.co.za or email events@cboconnect.co.za
About Community Business Owners (CBO)
Gordon said they are encouraged by the rapid growth of CBO, an idea that was sparked during the Covid-19 lockdown when thousands of SMEs were under enormous pressure. Membership to CBO is free.
As a business coach and consultant, focusing specifically on helping SMEs start, manage, grow and scale a valuable business, Gordon and Wainwright saw a need to establish a business networking group to foster a mindset of ‘growing community businesses together’.
“We meet on the first Friday of each month for breakfast at a local eatery in the area. Any SME business owner or decision-maker is welcome to attend, but we require them to RSVP beforehand.
“The breakfast is at a set cost by the restaurant, payable by the attendees. In this way, we also support a local eatery through our monthly meet-ups.
“The meet-ups are facilitated by myself or Andrew or by our CBO volunteer admin teams, who are business owners and CBO members.
“Once CBO was off the ground in Bedfordview and Edenvale, we opened more ‘chapters’ of the networking meetings in Boksburg and Benoni. We are expanding into other areas and will launch chapters in Pretoria East, Kempton Park and Kyalami/Midrand before the end of the year.
“We aim to grow this concept nationally. The welcoming and informal approach of these breakfast meetings is conducive to business owners to build relationships, and, ultimately, benefit from collaboration, referrals and much more. People do business with people they like.“
Gordon elaborated CBO encourages its members to buy locally.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. By supporting local, you contribute to the growth and sustainability of your community and the local economy.”
Go to www.cboconnect.co.za to find out more about the Community Business Owners’ offerings and their monthly chapter meetings.
