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The drive behind the Community projects is empowerment, wealth and job creation at grass root level with specific focus on BEE and the empowerment of women.
Areas of Assistance:
- The creation of sustainable SMME’s with a unique value proposition
- Creating infrastructures and building capacity to enable growth
- Innovative and professional branding and brand positioning
- Customised market development and product positioning to address specific market needs e.g. Funeral candles and’ long burning’, non-dripping candles
- Designing unique channels to market
- Creating economies of scale by establishing associations, co-operations and mini- franchises
- Including local monopolies and strong traditional intermediaries in the value chain
- Pack sizes and pricing structures needs to address ‘value for money’ concept and spending patterns
- Empowerment of owners and client through training and product knowledge
- Creating unique business processes to address unique challenges
- Post –implementation support
Two focus areas were identified were community businesses could be developed
1. Cosmetics Industry
2. Candle Making
Cosmetics Industry
As was already mentioned, the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) markets are not only
extremely brand conscious, but also value conscious. Women at lower income
levels aspire to use quality body and skin care products. They want to look and
feel great. Currently affordable products are of very low quality.
To empower entrepreneurs, a ‘back door approach’ was followed by creating a
network of principle direct selling perfume business throughout South-Africa. .
To support the business platform from an infrastructure point of view, ChemCity
facilitated the establishment of the Perfume Hub in Sasolburg.
The Perfume Hub vision is to establish 15 principle perfume businesses with
associates and consultants in different parts of South Africa. The businesses
will share a generic base, but each will have unique features to differentiate
and position them in the market. The business model aims to establish a brand
with the perfumes, allowing the more successful businesses to later diversify
into personal care and skincare.
The Perfume Hub is a cluster of independent businesses supporting the different
perfume enterprises established. This Hub cluster comprises of:
The Ely Freunstrein Perfume Academy: The academy trains entrepreneurs, associates and consultants. Candidates have to
pass a theoretical and practical exam and receive a certificate.
Create A Perfume: This perfume manufacturing facility blend perfume oils imported from France to
create top quality fragrances.
A Hub administrator
Candle Making
The continuous energy crisis in South Africa has opened a window of opportunity
for small independent candle makers. In rural areas ordinary household candles
remain popular, while decorative candles used for special occasions are gaining
ground. ChemCity contracts with an expert candle maker to assist with training,
implementation and commissioning of these small candle-making factories
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