For any new farmer, the roadmap to registering a farming business can seem like a complicated and daunting task. However, while it is definitely no walk in the park, getting the process started shouldn’t scare you at all.
During a recent episode of Food For Mzansi’s weekly Gather To Grow interactive discussion on Twitter, Ilana Steyn, managing director at Company Partners, Thandeka Dladla, agripreneur and manager and director of Thathingo Holdings, and Lungelo Nkwanyane, accountant and founder of Lungelo N Group, unpacked the 101 of registering a farming business.
The session was led by farmer Gugulethu Mahlangu and Food For Mzansi editor for audience and engagement, Dawn Noemdoe.
In her introduction, Steyn said the first step in registering any business is to determine the scale of the business.
“Most small businesses start as a sole proprietorship which is when the business is owned and operated by the farmer. When more people are involved in the growing of the business and share in the profit and liability of the business, it is registered as a partnership (Pty),” Steyn explained.
There is also a private company (Pty Ltd) which larger companies tend to look at. Registering as a private company allows the company to have shareholders and directors. Steyn further explained that should a farmer do business with organisations like the government, they can consider registering a cooperative.
Register and get funded
Meanwhile Nkwanyane stated that should a business register as a sole proprietorship or a partnership, they did not have to register with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).
Nkwanyane pointed out that there were costs involved in registering a business.
“If you do it directly then you can go to the CIPC website [where] they provide the breakdown of the costs. It costs probably less than R200 to register a Pty. But of course if you request the services of a registration service provider, then they will charge their service fee,” explained Nkwanyane.
During the session agripeneur Dladla placed great emphasis on how important it is to have a registered company when trying to get funding.
“I could have an idea and I need funding from a certain company or the state, for instance. They need those documents that [confirm that] you are a registered company,” Dladla pointed out.
ALSO READ: All you need to know to register your farming business
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