RISA CHARITABLE TRUST email:info@risafund.org web: www.risafund.org TEL: 774.276.0202 9120 173rd Ave SE Snohomish, WA 98290 USA

Sibongile Pottery In 2000, Ms. Thembeka Maye started the Sibongile Pottery Project to alleviate poverty and create jobs for local artisans in one of Cape Town's township communities. Sibongile experienced great success with its limited resources, becoming one of the leading suppliers of pottery in the Western Cape. Even with this success however, Sibongile struggled to employ more than six potters at a time, maintain adequate financial controls, and implement a long-term marketing outlook. In mid-2005, RISA awarded Sibongile a grant that allowed the business to hire a local marketing and strategic planning consultant. The consultant was tasked with creating a plan to increase Sibongile's visibility and expose it to the growing local tourist market. The consultant firm Ilitha Lethemba, a local business owned and managed by a black South African woman, provided Sibongile with the skills needed to map the most productive way forward, make the most of available markets, and implement proper financial systems. The business plan created by the Ilitha consultant has since given Sibongile the needed guidance to focus on the most productive marketing outlets, cut less productive activities, and expand its product offering backed by important marketing research. Sibongile also implemented more sophisticated financial controls, improving profitability and the sustainable nature of the business. As Sibongile has grown over the past few months, some of the artisans trained by Ms. Maye have gone off to start their own pottery businesses, providing employment for even more potters - many of whom are women - in this low-income community.