WE STARTED SO WE COULD GET HELP ALONG THE WAY – IMBADU COMMUNITY BAKERY COOPERATIVE BENEFICIARIES

By Lesego Ranchu.

• ⁠A community-owned bakery will be supplying the residents of Kayamandi in Stellenbosch and surrounding areas with freshly-baked bread in the near future.
• The minster of social development and officials from the Department of Social Development presented a cheque of R2 394 125.56 to the Imbadu Community Bakery Cooperative on 9 July 2025.
• The money will be used to set up the bakery, which will provide employment for 22 women and youth from the local community.

The Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, handed over a cheque of R2 394 125.56 to establish a community-owned bakery in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch, which will employ 22 women and youth from the local community.

The cheque was received by the Imbadu Community Bakery Cooperative on 9 July 2025, during a ministerial visit to the township.

Minister Tolashe was joined by the Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Peter Netshipale, Western Cape’s South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) acting regional manager, Sibusiso Nhlangothi, the National Development Agency’s acting CEO, Thabani Buthelezi, representatives from both the provincial and local governments, and other strategic partners.

The focus on cooperatives is a global one, with the United Nations declaring 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives, with the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World”.

The theme shines a spotlight on how the cooperative model plays a role in addressing and promoting sustainable development as well as being a solution to many global challenges.

Imbadu is a good example of what a cooperative can do to achieve sustainable community development.

“Cooperatives are the backbone of many economies across the globe,” Minister Tolashe said. “In South Africa, they are the heart of the much-needed village and township economic revival.”

She added: “The Imbadu Community Bakery will ensure that goods and services needed by the Kayamandi community are produced within their own community, and the money received by community members through social grants paid by SASSA also circulates within the community.”

Tolashe emphasised the importance of partnerships for development – government alone cannot achieve all the requirements.

The provincial manager of the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency, Kiwiet Mhlongo, pledged further infrastructure development assistance to the cooperative.

The National Development Agency, an entity of the Department of Social Development, continues to play a critical role in supporting the establishment of the community-owned enterprise through community engagement, research, training, and resource mobilisation.

The bakery enjoys partnerships with various stakeholders through the National Development Agency.

“The hope of young people has been renewed through this funding,” the chairperson of the Imbadu Community Bakery Cooperative, Nasiphi Mafumbula, said on receiving the cheque.

“We are located conveniently to our community and are going to be able to deliver daily bread to Kayamandi and surrounding areas.”