The CoCREATE Hub in the heart of town recently celebrated its second anniversary, a special milestone on its journey to unlock business opportunities for local community entrepreneurs from Stellenbosch.
The Hub opened its doors in 2021 to provide a multi-functional space where local entrepreneurs can access affordable working, trading and retail space. In addition, it gives students, residents and tourists the opportunity to “buy local, feast local and connect local.” More than 40 local entrepreneurs have, to date, benefited from the space and the business support it offers through the Ranyaka Building Business programme.
“The Hub has traded more than R3 million in turnover over this two-year period, of which 85% has been paid directly to the local vendors,” said social-impact strategist Marli Goussard. “This is truly something worth celebrating as our primary goal has always been to promote local economic inclusion for entrepreneurs from all Stellenbosch communities We are incredibly grateful to the funders who have made this possible. These include our primary funders, the Industrial Development Corporation, the Jannie Mouton Foundation, Stellenbosch University, Nedbank, BUCO, Entersekt as well as property owner, the Stellenbosch Municipality. A special thank you to the local community and especially the Maties students for buying into our vision and for their ongoing support.”
Said Mhlengi Ngcobo, CEO of CoffeeMM: “The CoCREATE Hub is a great space for small businesses to grow. CoffeeMM is a testament to how the Hub model can give a runway for a business to find traction quicker.”
“What is equally exciting is the way in which the Hub has become a gathering space, fulfilling its ‘connect local’ vision,” said Hub Marketing Manager Sonya Olivier. “It has truly become a place of meaningful conversations and network-building around social impact themes.”
The journey to transform the disused clinic building started in 2019, when the Stellenbosch Municipality awarded a 10-year lease for the building to local NPO Ranyaka, also the implementation agent for the national Nedbank Proud of my Town initiative. Phase 2 of the Hub story is currently under development and Stellenbosch can expect more to come from the CoCreate Hub in the coming year!
For more information visit www.cocreatehub.co.za or email the Hub Manager at hub@ranyaka.co.za.
