The NWDC and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will see the CIPC’s self-service terminals made available at two NWDC branches.

The implementation of this agreement is of great benefit to SMMEs, entrepreneurs, and cooperatives, as NWDC staff shall be able to assist clients with a suite of nine different on-line transactions at the self-service terminals.

The CIPC shall provide computers and biometric finger print scanners with computer applications for the CIPC’s self-service terminal and a link with the Department of Home Affairs for identity verification. These will be installed in two branches of the NWDC in the province, namely at the NWDC head office in Mahikeng and at the Rustenburg office.

After being adequately trained and equipped, NWDC staff shall be able to assist clients with the following nine on-line transactions on the self-service terminals:

a. Customer registrations
b. Password re-sets
c. Name reservations
d. Short company registrations
e. B-BBEE registration certificates for exempted micro enterprises
f. Filing annual returns
g. Company and Close Corporation address changes
h. Company and Close Corporation financial year-end changes
i. Electronic disclosures

Nokuthula Phamodi, Small Business Fund Administrator at the NWDC says: “We laud and thank the CIPC for entrusting this crucial small business service to the NWDC. We are absolutely certain that our clients will greatly benefit from the self-service terminals.”

Apart from the two stationary self-service points planned, the NWDC’s mobile office shall be equipped with the same infrastructure to enable the NWDC’s Small Business Development Unit to offer the same suite of services to clients from its mobile office, whenever the team is doing outreaches and road shows in the province’s villages, townships and small dorpies.

Roll-out of the self-service terminal infrastructure is expected to commence in towards the end of  2017, with the go-live date estimated for early in 2018

For the latest information on this project, contact Nokuthula Phamodi from NWDC’s Small Business Development Unit on 017 422 0067/68