Impact Hub Cape Winelands has launched an initiative to dismantle structural barriers preventing local businesses from participating in the region's economy. Led by CEO Marli Goussard, the hub connects entrepreneurs with research, markets, and funding to promote inclusive growth. The effort targets tourism integration and community ownership in one of South Africa's most unequal areas.
In the economically divided Cape Winelands region, Impact Hub Cape Winelands opened its doors with a focus on empowering community-owned businesses. The hub, under CEO Marli Goussard, acts as a bridge between local entrepreneurs, academic institutions, and private investors, addressing gaps that keep small ventures from scaling.
Goussard emphasized the core issue: “The problem isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s a lack of systems that let local people own the solutions to local problems.” Tourism in the area is booming, yet structural hurdles like limited market access and compliance costs cause revenue to escape local communities, according to Visit Stellenbosch's Jenna Moses and Elmaríe Rabé.
Moses pointed out, “Operators often don’t know how to access international markets, and the funding channels that used to exist have closed.” Research from Visit Stellenbosch and Futureneer Advisors underscores the region's role in visitor arrivals and jobs, but integration remains elusive.
The hub's strategy includes three key elements. First, partnering with Stellenbosch University on a pilot to produce waste-based cement alternatives, aiming to cut costs for small manufacturers. Second, securing patient capital through a for-profit model where 25% of shares support a nonprofit reinvesting in startups. Goussard noted, “We need investment cycles that match the reality of impact-driven enterprises, not conventional three- to five-year returns.”
Third, advocating for policy changes to embed community enterprises in municipal development plans. This counters fragmentation in existing support from agencies like the Small Enterprise Development Agency, where programs often run in isolation, as Rabé observed: “Organisations operate in parallel rather than together.”
National data from the 2024 State of Small Business report highlights similar challenges, with many firms lacking infrastructure and scaling options. The 2024-2025 Cape Winelands economic review confirms persistent income inequality.
Success could retain tourism wealth locally and foster sustainable entrepreneurship, but it demands coordinated efforts across sectors. Without it, the hub risks fading like past initiatives. As Moses warned, “The Winelands will continue generating demand without local ownership.” Goussard envisions, “If local entrepreneurs can operate commercially, the value generated stays local.”
