The ceremony, held for 550 newly trained business people, was recently held at the Great Hall on the east campus of the University of the Witwatersrand, in Braamfontein, according to the City of Johannesburg's website, www.joburg.org.za.
Wits Enterprise, the university's commercial company, was contracted by the city to provide training to informal sector entrepreneurs.
The training covered the basic fundamentals of small business management, such as budgeting, pricing, marketing, drawing up a business plan, networking and other information essential for running a business.
Joburg's Executive Director of Economic Development, Jason Ngobeni, praised the initiative.
"I do not believe that there is another city in this country that invests in and creates as many opportunities for informal trade as the City of Joburg."
He said taking the course would not end in receiving a certificate at a ceremony, but would evolve into the growth of some of their businesses into businesses that contributed to growing the economy.
Vasco Ndebele, from the City's Metropolitan Trading Company, said: "Days such as these are important because they are an opportunity for us to celebrate humanity as the city."
Delighted traders smiled broadly with excitement as their names were called, and they went up on stage to collect their certificates.
They thanked the city for the "wonderful" opportunity to grow their business knowledge.
"On behalf of all the traders we would like to thank the City of Joburg and Wits University for such a wonderful opportunity," said one of the traders, Obi Georgeson from Yeoville.
"The course has really taught us a lot of things we did not know about trading and for that we say thank you."
Another trader, Nompumelelo Myeza, was also grateful for the opportunity.
"I did not know much about running a business when I first came here but today I know a lot. Thank you very much City of Joburg."
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
