At the end of 1991 various stakeholders form diverse organisations and community structures in Port Elizabeth came together to address the steady economic decline of the old Eastern Cape region. This resulted in the launch of the Eastern Cape Regional Economic Development Forum (REDF) on the 23rd of February 1993. The forum was chaired jointly by Mr. Raymond Mhlaba the former premier of the Eastern Cape and Mr. Clive Tutton the former Managing Director of Gentyre. The forum established four key working groups the Housing Working Group, which was chaired by Professor Hennie Snyman the Transport Working Group, which was chaired by Mr. Thobile Mhlahlo and the Job Creation Working Group, which was chaired by Mr. Errol Heynes.

The Job Creation Working Group formed a trust to operate as a legal entity, and was first registered as the REDF Job Creation Trust with Errol Heynes as the first Chairperson. With the demise of the Regional Economic Development Forum in late 1994 the trust changed its name to the Eastern Cape Job Creation Trust with Comsec (Community Self-Employment Centre) as its core project. The trust continued to operate with representation of members from all stakeholders of the Regional Economic Development Forum. It was very important at that stage in the Port Elizabeth area to create an all-inclusive body that would be politically acceptable to everybody.

Comsec then negotiated a twenty year lease for an abandoned old steam locomotive depot of Spoornet, which had fallen into decay and had becomed delapidated. A loan of R3,2 million rand was secured from the Development Bank of South Africa, and the buildings were renovated and restored to house a number of small and medium business size industrial workshops and offices. The renovation and restoration process was completed in late 1997 and the program created over 300 jobs for small contractors, who had undergone on the job training in the construction industry, by a project manager seconded to the project by Spoornet. As buildings were completed entrepreneurs were housed in workshops and provided with entrepreneurial support, guidance and business skills training programmes, in a typically small business incubation format.

From a common idea to ten years of successful service delivery in small business development. From unemployment to self-employment. From a small Job Creation Trust with a big vision to a network of key role players from every sector of society. >From a disused dilapidated railway depot in Sydenham Port Elizabeth to a mushrooming complex of small factories, workshops and offices known as Comsec. The story of Comsec is still being written by a new generation of small business advisors and entrepreneurs who are working and training at the centre. A great deal of credit must go to some of the organizations that played a key role in the formation of the trust and support of the Community Self-Employment Centre in its initial phase. The CSIR, Shatterprufe, Deloittes and Touche', East Cape Training Centre, MCI, SBDC, Spoornet, the ANC, and the Port Elizabeth City Council among others.

The project started with 3 employees and 2 small businesses, a knitting project of the CSIR and Zama Engineering. It has grown over the past ten years to 31 employees with offices established in both East London and Umtata. It services plus minus 70 small development services. Comsec is known nationally and internationally as a small business development centre of renown. It is the only institution of its kind in the country to hold an ISO 9001/2000 accreditation for quality systems and is currently in the process of achieving the accreditation for investors in people. The institution is managed and staffed by a one hundred percent previously disadvantaged individuals, (PDI's). It's success can be attributed to the fact that it is driven by sound business principles and is managed and operated with superb systems and policies and also headed up an individual with many years of management experience in the corporate sector. The staff consists of a group of young driven people with an average age of 32 years many of whom have come through the institutions unique 2 year practical graduate internship program.

The organisation consistently adapts itself to the changing small business environment that requires innovative methods to create impact. It constantly reinvents itself and now consists of four key silos of operation, which are Comsec BDS, Comsec Consult, Comsec Property and Comsec Finance and Administration. It serves as an allocating agency for the Umsobomvu Youth Fund Voucher Program, a lead Service Provider for some of Seta's and utilizes its experience in the Consult Division for the replication of the project throughout South Africa.

Comsec was fortunate in 1996, to acquire the support of Sida the Swedish International Development Agency who has played a major role in funding some of the development and training programmes as well as providing valuable institutional guidance and exposure to international methodology and benchmarks. A great deal of credit must also be attributed to the Board of Trustees of the Eastern Cape Job Creation Trust and in particular the Chairperson Mr. M Ndube and the Vice-Chairperson Mr. Desmond Prinsloo, George Yerolemou, A da Costa, Les Bucwa, Johan Le Roux and others, who endured sound governance and direction for the institution.