City Lodge Hotels has highlighted how it is championing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through its enterprise and supplier development (ESD) and transformation initiatives, and all parties are benefiting.
At a dedicated GM’s Lunch at City Lodge Fourways yesterday (Tuesday, March 25), nine SME incubatees were given the opportunity to exhibit and showcase their services and products to key industry stakeholders.
“Our active participation in an ESD programme, initiated in partnership with SATSA, demonstrates our commitment to transformation. This collaboration has been invaluable in steering our procurement process towards more effective and sustainable ESD practices,” said Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, COO of City Lodge.
She noted that, as a member of inbound industry association, SATSA, City Lodge Hotels enjoyed support from Sigma International – a key partner contracted to aid SATSA members with their ESD programmes.
According to Sangweni-Siddo, this collaboration sees City Lodge Hotels dedicate resources towards nurturing the growth of small Black-owned businesses, underlining its commitment to fostering economic empowerment.
“We were delighted with the successful conclusion of the 2023 incubator programme, where we graduated a group of eight small, Black-owned businesses into our procurement chain supply. Just one success story is our relationship with Asmara Coffee, which began in our incubatee programme, and now we stock this coffee across our hotels,” she explained.
“With our 2024 incubator programme well under way, we are actively assisting this new group of enterprises into becoming successful in growing and scaling their businesses to become significant suppliers, not only for our group, but other hospitality players too. This is an initiative that is close to our heart at City Lodge Hotels. Let’s make the circle bigger!”
These are the nine businesses that benefit from being part of City Lodge Hotels’ incubatee programme:
- Ashok Narsai Interiors
- Forest Fairies
- King's Manufactures
- Morake Décor
- Organic Matters
- Point Squared Shuttles
- Roska Artisan Ice Cream
- Spirits and Bubbles SA
- Wazisa Green Solutions
