Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) CEO Mcebisi Jonas says that despite the challenges that remain the shifts that have taken place within the corporation over the past three years can only be described as “seismic”.

Jonas states in the ECDC annual report that the corporation has now become a pathfinder for enterprise development agencies and that “it is no exaggeration to say that we are boldly going where no other organisation has gone before.

“We believe that there is no model for enterprise development agencies in our country. That is what we are establishing.”

Essentially, Jonas stresses, in the 2003/4 financial year ECDC “took a giant leap forward towards becoming a viable, effective enterprise development and support agency that focuses on the private sector.

“An entirely new business model has emerged, and the corporation is steadily moving away from its old role as a lender of last resort towards becoming the hub for enterprise development in the Eastern Cape.”

The strategic priorities of ECDC, he states, remain the same:

• To increase the development impact of its interventions
• To build on the internal structural and financial gains that have been made over the past two years
• Address the ongoing challenge of corporate financial viability, and
• Enhance strategic and operational alliances.

Jonas says that have fixed the basics, ECDC is now moving into a phase where delivery with increasing impact is the driving force, although he acknowledges the need to continue to put in place the “necessary internal systems and policies” with regard to IT and improve the skills base and cohesion between units in the corporation.

Turning to the corporation’s performance in the last financial year, Jonas said that over this period the Enterprise Finance Unit had extended loans and guarantees of more than R130 million to provincial enterprises that created or saved 8 070 jobs.

In addition, Project Development funded 11 projects worth R180,8 million – many of these are growing into major programmes that will create more than 7 300 jobs. As far as Investment Promotion is concerned, the unit facilitated and supported investments of R831,9 million that created or saved 1 302 jobs.

Regarding development in the former Transkei homeland – the area that presents the major developmental challenges – the Spatial and Rural Development Unit initiated projects with the potential to create 2 2000 jobs and attract spending of more than R1 billion over the next five to seven years.

Financially, Jonas says that “dramatically improved efficiencies” are producing results with most ECDC-owned properties loaded onto a database and valued, all staff having signed performance contracts and transactions and payments processed within 24 hours as against 72 hours in the previous financial year.

“While we did all this, the corporation maintained an operating profit. Just two years ago, we recorded an audited operating loss of R21 million.

“In terms of maximising government’s development `spend’ we have determined that for every R1 ECDC received from the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism in 2003/4, we spent R2,25, drawing from our own resources.”

Looking ahead, Jonas says that ECDC recognises the need for it to be a “learning organisation” that encourages innovation, and it is developing systems “to ensure that the corporation and our people benefit from the cumulative knowledge and experience gained in our relatively short, but rich history.

As far as hard targets for the current financial year are concerned, he says that:

• The Enterprise Finance Unit intends to support SMMEs with funding in excess of R40 million
• Investment Promotion is looking at R848 million
• Project Development plans to implement 48 projects, attracting investment of R275 million and creating some 9 000 jobs over the next three years.

Stating that there are “exciting times ahead”, Jonas says that ECDC intends to become “far more actively involved in driving robust Local Economic Development programmes that reduce poverty by creating sustainable employment, and in further improving access to finance to create opportunities for entrepreneurs”.

To achieve this, he adds, ECDC is negotiating with potential partners in both the donor community and financial sector.