Dear Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development,

We are a woman owned business started in 2014. We started by retailing school uniforms and related products in the Ekurhuleni area of Gauteng. We have been self funded with 5 full time employees and 10 casual and part time employees who are project based. We survived both COVID LOCKDOWNS and looting of 2021. After the looting of 2021 we ventured into manufacturing and procured one knitting machine and 2 sewing machines.

In 2022 we identified a growth opportunity in manufacturing and we approached SEFA who approved a loan of R2 million. The payments were effected in February and June 2023. We received the machines in July 2023 affectively losing the planning period for 2024 back to school because we had to embark on recruitment and training of the knitters. This is a highly skill function and the machines are highly computerized.

The machines were beginning to operate in September/October 2023. The loan only had an initial effect on the business in Dec 2023 and at the time everyone had secured their stock for January 2024 in June 2023 so we had missed the bus.

We never had any contact with SEFA hindsight we should have reached out and told them our plight. But on their side too and as an organization which purports to provide support for small business owners, an after sales service should have been established they should have reached out to us and taken an interest in their customer by providing support and nurturing. But they never did instead they instructed lawyers to issue us with summons in August 2024 and 4th September we went to court and an order was granted against us for them to take over our business of 10 years. We only had a 8-10 months relationship with SEFA and they have been granted an order to perfect the bond. What is so wrong and unfair is that Gauteng Schoolwear was not able to put forward our case because we could not afford lawyers and advocates. We really feel bullied and oppressed by an organization which is meant to support and nurture us.

SEFA Summons says the reason for perfecting their bond is that according to our financial statements the Directors prioritized themselves by paying themselves R97 000 (ninety seven thousand Rand) when in the same statement the directors have contributed R377 000(three hundred and seventy seven Rand). This shows that the reason for the court proceedings that granted them the order was based on incorrect information. So because we were not legally represented our side of the story was not heard.
We request that the Committee consider our plight and please help us because the legal representative of SEFA is not will to accept any offer from us and they have indicated that we shouldn’t come with offers lower than that of SEFA and these offers are clearly unaffordable according to our financials.

Can the Committee please help us in this desperate situation.

Warm Regards