Nabeela Vally, Business Development Manager at Edge Growth, and Trevor Naidoo, Founding Director of ProcureSense, conduct a riveting dialogue that examines the importance of market access as a critical driver for innovation, SME growth, job creation and economic stimulation in South Africa. The duo introduce strategies that will aid corporates to foster innovation and drive disruption within their supply chains by moving beyond compliance and conventional procurement to adopt an integrated, forward-thinking and value-based approach to enterprise development, supplier development and preferential procurement. In addition, Trevor and Nabeela determine the barriers to access to market that challenge South Africa’s SMEs and offer advice to entrepreneurs on how to tap into market access opportunities.

Edge Growth Head of Client Lillian Keetse engages INSETA Research Specialist Zakariyya Desai and INSETA Learning Division Manager Kgothatso Modise in a compelling conversation that explores how corporates can rethink their SME development strategies to better support the needs of small businesses in South Africa. Zakariyya and Kgothatso provide real-world examples that demonstrate the ways in which INSETA has leveraged research, impact assessment and collaboration to determine how the organisation can evolve to improve their approach to SME development. On a matter that challenges the industry, the trio assesses the need for tailored SME support that effectively meets the unique needs of individual SMEs.

Edge Growth Senior Investment Associate Philani Mzila leads Vumela Fund Trustee Mike Sage and Kusini Water founder Murendeni Mafumo in a dynamic discussion that explores the potential to lift the barriers to funding and unlock capital for South Africa’s SMEs. Providing a dual perspective on the complexities of capital raising, Mike Sage presents an investor's outlook whose insight on the topic is complemented by the learnings of Murendeni Mafumo obtained through first-hand experience as a founder in pursuit of access to funding. The trio examines the obstacles and opportunities of capital raising for small businesses in South Africa, offering key takeaways to the benefit of both impact investors and SMEs.

Nabeela Vally, Edge Growth Business Development Manager and Colleen Ebbitt, Vice President, Programme Officer for J.P. Morgan Global Philanthropy (EMEA), engage in an enthralling discussion that calls attention to the potential that impact investing holds to unlock greater SME support and social innovation in South Africa. The pair unpack the meaning of impact investing and the influential local and global trends that are shaping it. Offering interesting insights to impact investors, corporate leaders and policymakers, Nabeela and Colleen examine the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors to mobilise impact investments that drive inclusive socio-economic development.

Julian Warbreck, Product Lead at Edge Growth, and Lerato Bopape, Founder and CEO of Concise Flow, conduct a riveting dialogue that reports on the strengths and weaknesses of South Africa’s SME development landscape from the perspective of an SME founder. The duo cast a light on the opportunities that exist to better SME development to the advantage of both corporates and SMEs. As Lerato chronicles her experience as a participant of an SME programme, she offers a multifaceted perspective on SME development that imparts key learnings to the benefit of various SME ecosystem players, from corporate executives and ESD service providers to founders and entrepreneurs.

Edge Growth CEO Daniel Hatfield and FNB Head of SME Development Heather Lowe lead a compelling conversation as to how shared value can translate from a theoretical concept to an actionable and advantageous corporate strategy. Daniel and Heather explore shared value in relation to enterprise and supplier development, SME development, social enterprise, innovation and socio-economic development. The duo examines the challenges and opportunities that exist for shared value creation rooted within a South African context and illustrated through real-world examples that offer invaluable insights for corporate organisations to consider and integrate into their own strategies.

An introduction to The Cutting Edge Podcast hosted by Edge Growth - leaders in Enterprise and Supplier Development, Impact Investing and SME development.