Maxwell Miselo (standing), of Soyisile Transport Services
Maxwell Miselo was able to realise his dream of running a successful transport and freight business after he approached the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) to protect his business’s assets.
With only one vehicle to kickstart his shuttle and trucking enterprise, Soyisile Transport Services, Miselo wanted to formalise his business, protect his company’s intellectual property and increase his chances of getting business support.
He started the business in 2009 after he decided to work for himself.
However, he could not apply for tenders as his business was not registered. So he turned to a fellow entrepreneur for advice.
“I had a friend who told me about the CIPC and together we visited their office to formalise my business,” Miselo says.
The CIPC, a merger between the Office of Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement and the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office, is mandated to formalise small business to make it easier for companies to apply for help in funding, accounting and banking.
Miselo says an assistant took him through the registration process by first creating an account and a password which he could then use to track the registration of his company, which took a few weeks to complete.
He was required to have an e-mail address and a cellphone number to which he would be sent updates on registration and other services.
During the once-off registration, that took about 45 minutes, Miselo was asked to present five different names should the name he had chosen have already been registered under someone else’s name.
A fee of R170 was charged for the registration and five weeks later, Soyisile Transport Services was up-an-running.
After queuing at the commission’s office, Miselo could now log into the commission’s online services which range from tracking annual returns, receiving tender updates and lodging complaints.
Says Miselo: “I was impressed by the fast and neat process. My company now stands as a competent player in the industry. We are yet to apply for funding or any form of support but we are very ready.”
Tshiamo Zebediale, a communications specialist for the commission, says there are a lot of benefits to formalising an enterprise.
Since the merger, the commission has improved its service delivery by introducing online registration, allowing applicants to send documentation via e-mail, doing away with the need to queue at their offices to register a business.
Another option is to use the CIPC’s self-service terminals, which allows one to register a business with a registration number in place of a name registration.
Using this offering a company can be registered within 48 hours.
Business owners can continue to make use of the CIPC’s services, while opting to pay the registration fee later.
This is because the registration certificate is only released once funds are available on one’s virtual account.
The introduction of self-service terminals at the commission’s offices eliminates the need for middlemen, who often charge an additional fee for registration.
- Go to www.cipc.co.za for more information. You can also call their call centre on
086 100 272.