28-Apr-2011

As a non-profit organisation, dealing with a disadvantaged sector of the population, we at The Business Place have always depended strongly on donor funding to do our work. Sadly, in the current economic climate, some of our donors have been forced to withdraw their support of our programmes. Right now, replacement benefactors are few and far between.

It’s for that reason that we’ve had to take some extremely difficult decisions around the continued viability of some our branches. As of 30 April 2011, our King Williams Town and Swaziland branches – which have done some sterling work in their communities and we know will be sorely missed - will be closed.

We remain deeply committed to our core mission of providing a platform to help small businesses become self-sufficient. We will be doing everything we can to support small businesses in those areas through our broader Business Place Network. If, and when, we are able to re-establish sustainable benefactor agreements in those areas, we will re-consider our options.