Middelburg — The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) hosted a workshop to assist small businesses in Nkangala District about regulatory compliance so that they can reap more benefits out of funding opportunities.
In the workshop held on 12 November 2025 at Sydney Choma Banquet Hall, Motlatsi Maleka, Deputy Director at the Department of Tourism, said Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are vital for economic growth and service improvement.
Maleka highlighted that many small businesses fail due to limited awareness of available funding opportunities. “We all know that some small business fails within the period of five years,” she said.
“During the rollout of the Tourism Relief Fund about 72% of applicants were not funded due to outstanding mandatory documents such as valid tax certificates, proof of UIF documents and most critical financial documents.” Maleka added.
Local entrepreneur Sibusiso Mbonani from Sibusiso Adventures Tours based in Delmas said the workshop was eye-opening. “I learned more information about the importance of compliance resilience, more exposure to information about funding companies to approach.”
