EWET's Business Assistance Services (BAS) focus on the provision of services to existing and emerging entrepreneurs within the Greater Harrismith area.

Primary Target Groups: Emerging and Existing Entrepreneurs within the rural Greater Harrismith area: as well as the Out-Of-School and Unemployed Youth involved in / or planning to be involved in Micro, Very Small and Small Businesses operations.

Sectors: Agriculture, Manufacturing, Retail and Services.

Business Training: EWET's approach training is to follow a pace that is such that the trainees are able to cope; to intergrate the transfer of information with group and individual assignments; to assess the outcomes of training through the application of newly gained competencies by beneficiaries and to provide training only in response to a clearly identified need by the beneficiary/s. EWET's training focus is on self-assesment in terms of interest in and aptitude for entrepreneurship as a career choice, as well as to cover the various aspeccts of small business operations.

Business Counselling: is a client centred in that we make sure that we really understand the challenge faced by client before we assist the client in finding workable solutions for his or her business. Councelling also caters for Busineess plan development for which EWET developed a workbook that prompts the client through questions. Clients are able to compile a business plan from their response to the questions.

Information and referral: Types of information requested by clients related to: tender opportunities, access to finance, investigations on possible partnerships for the initiation of job creation projects and, requests for information on other organisations providing training and training courses. EWET developed a database on businesses operating in the Greater Harrismith and Qwaqwa areas. EWET's partners for referrals are the Start and Improve Your Business programme of the International Labour Organization (http://www.ilo.org/), the Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency, KHULA Financing, the Small Business Development Corporation, the Free State Development Corporation, local commercial banks and an extensive network of Local Partnerships that EWET assisted in its establishment in more than 20 towns across South Africa.

The Business Now Program: is based on the observation that the youth have limited skills leels and that they need a set of supporting activities to be able to seek opportunities in self-employment. These activities relate both to personal development as well as development of a business concept. The activities are organized in such a way that they cater for the needs of the youth in their pre-start-up phase as well for the assistance with the actual initiation of the business and the follow-up support. In this way youth is not left out somewhere in the middle of their process of preparation to start a new enterprise but they continue to obtain support as needed throughout the whole developmental phase.