Our enterprise development initiative in Alexandra
In September 2009, Palace Group held a corporate fundraising golf day event with the aim of raising funds towards an income-generating project to benefit guardians and parents of the Alexandra Child Care and Support Centre (ACCSC).
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The event raised forty thousand rands. The Chairman had pledged an equivalent of whatever amount raised. That brought the total to eighty thousand rands form one fund-raiser. However, during the course of the year in 2009, it was soon clear that there was a need to conduct in-depth research on the exact business for the purpose, considering the demographics within Alexandra and the intended participants (parents and guardians of the children at the centre). To achieve that and make an informed business decision, Grinpal Energy Management, a subsidiary of Palace Group, made available funds to engage with as many stakeholders as possible for an in-depth research and gap analysis. After almost six months, the consensus reached was setting up a bakery to generate income to benefit the centre. Grinpal had spent more than eighty thousand (80,000) rands for the stakeholder engagement process. In getting the project off the ground, more than an additional amount of one hundred thousand (100,000) rands was required for the equipment, accessories and training of the participants. Grinpal is committed to making this enterprise work more so because the company has a long established rapport within the Alexandra community, with its revolutionary smart metering technology firmly rooted in this community as part of the Alexandra Renewal Project. To this end, Grinpal has made available not just the financial resources but also, human resources at no cost to the centre, to guide the enterprise management especially within the first twelve months of business. The Intended Benefits of the Bakery Enterprise About the bakery Location: Alexandra "We are grateful to Palace Group for this wonderful opportunity they have presented to us...We plan to make this project a success, not only do we want to have a successful business we would also like to leave a legacy behind. This project will not only benefit the centre and its guardians, the benefits will be extended to our immediate families and the Alexandra community at large," Arnos Nemaitoni, Chairman of the Parents and Guardians Committee" "The bakery is a very good initiative which will sustain the centre financially. A lot of the children's basic needs such as food will be met. It will also encourage other guardians to participate in the centre. All of these things will be major achievements for us, and we are very grateful," says Mr. Gabriel Ngwenya, Chairman of the ACCSC Board
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