Asata is looking to its members to support its new business incubator programme.
The incubator has capacity for up to 60 businesses (60 seats) per financial year and participation will be sponsored by Asata members.
It will deliver customised, needs-based skills development programmes to Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) that work in, or want to break into, the travel industry.
Asata members are being asked to nominate existing businesses and service providers they would like to see placed in the programme. It will target SMMEs that are at least 51% black-owned, although applications will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Participation in this incubator by Asata members is entirely voluntary, however sponsors’ contributions will be eligible to earn the sponsor Enterprise Development (ED) and Supplier Development (SD) points towards their B-BBEE scorecard. Sponsorship costs R95 000 excluding VAT per beneficiary business joining the incubator.
There’s another plus – contributions made by the sponsoring Asata members are fully tax-deductible.
Otto de Vries, Asata CEO, said an overarching goal was to drive transformation in the industry, and he praised the model for its far-reaching benefits.
There is serious potential to scale up the programme, and to connect beneficiaries with the wider travel industry network.
Far-reaching benefits
Asata has partnered with Sigma International to bring the new incubator programme to life.
Sigma International has a proven track-record in the skills development space, and has already established similar business incubators for the Department of Tourism and for SATSA, the inbound travel industry body.
The programme is ISO 9001:2025-accredited.
“We have identified the need for an industry-led business incubator to build and further strengthen South Africa’s travel and eventing industry, particularly in a post-COVID environment, as tourism is a backbone industry and an integral player in our national economic recovery,” said De Vries.
“By aggregating investment spend, Asata can have a much greater impact on the travel industry, while increasing transformation buy-in and reach.”
Domino effect
According to Akash Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of Sigma International, six other existing incubator programmes have already had an impact on 258 beneficiaries, big and small, across the tourism value chain nationwide.
Singh said: “We hope that once Asata’s business incubator gains traction we will be able to welcome even more beneficiaries in the following financial year.”
Members have already shown an interest. Gary Mulder, Club Travel CEO, said the idea was novel and he confirmed that the group had committed some of its transformation spend to supporting the programme.
“We believe that true and lasting transformation needs to be a collective effort that has real impact on the ground.”
Interested parties can contact Asata for more information, or set up a virtual or in-person meeting with Sigma International.
Asata members can nominate a business or businesses that they wish to sponsor, while Singh said Asata members would also be called upon periodically to identify other potentially suitable candidates.
The partners hope to see as many as 400-500 beneficiaries reached within 18 months or so.
According to Singh, with time, Asata’s incubator has the potential to become the biggest supplier development programme in the country with the support of the industry.
