Ford's Incubation Centre graduate opens new business

Jeff Nemeth, Lebogang Maile, Caiphus Mokotedi and Cllr Aaron Maluleka

The incubation programme was established by the Gauteng provincial government, in conjunction with the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), an entity owned by the provincial government's Department of Economic Development. Its aim is to provide manufacturing opportunities for small and medium enterprises to enter the automotive industry.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has proudly been part of this initiative since it was launched at the company's Silverton assembly plant in 2011.

"The incubation programme is focused on enterprise development support to empower SMMEs to run sound and sustainable businesses through structured training and mentoring programmes aimed at giving the entrepreneurs the required technical and business acumen skills," says Jeff Nemeth, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Sub-Saharan Africa.

New business

"This project has been an extremely valuable stepping stone for me and I am very grateful for the opportunity that the AIDC and Ford have given me through the incubation programme," says Mokotedi.

"The training and support have given me the solid grounding to start up my own new business, which will now become an integral part of Ford's manufacturing operations."

Zig Enterprises, headed by Mokotedi, has been awarded the tender for Ford's new vehicle personalisation centre. This facility will give South African-built Ford Ranger customers the opportunity to equip their vehicles at factory level to suit specific needs and requirements. The centre, which is interlinked with the plant, is subject to the same error-proofing systems as the manufacturing facility, in order to ensure the highest levels of quality.

"To enhance the ownership experience, we have gone a step further to delight our customers with personalised vehicles that reflect their distinct style and personality," says Nemeth. "The centre allows our customers to choose from a range of tailor-made options for the Ranger, just as they would select from the available style and option packs when purchasing a vehicle at a dealer.

"We are delighted that we've been able to make this possible with our new enterprise development partner and incubation programme graduate, as we focus on small enterprise development and broad-based black economic empowerment," he concludes.