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25 March 2010
Budding business heroes ready to take on the world
A group of 80 budding business heroes this afternoon celebrated the successful conclusion of a year of intensive training, nurturing and mentoring that has seen them gain a robust set of entrepreneurial skills.
The top 20 winners in the Believe Begin Become programme each receive R35 000 worth of business development support with those making it through to the final 10 group of entrepreneurs receiving an additional R75 000 in seed capital for their own business.
The finalists and winners were announced at an award function in Johannesburg today.
The Believe Begin Become programme is a nation-wide entrepreneurship development initiative supported by Standard Bank Group run by Technoserve, a non-profit economic development organisation that helps entrepreneurial people in rural areas build profitable businesses.
Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive of Standard Bank South Africa, says access to finance is one of the more difficult challenges for entrepreneurs.
"The Believe Begin Become programme with its full year of individual mentorship support, helps to remove that obstacle so that they can focus on growing their businesses and understanding the environment they operate in," he says.
The year-long mentoring and after-care system has been key to the success of the Believe Begin Become programme. The aftercare aspect of the programme includes brokering access to finance and sustainability tracking through the examination of business factors such as turnover and human resources.
"A key indicator of success is the fact that more than 70% of the businesses that have gone through the Believe Begin Become programme are still in operation and most of them are flourishing," says Earl Sampson, Country Director, TechnoServe.
South Africa has a significant small business sector with up to three million small businesses representing 95% of all enterprises. The small business sector contributes around 45% to the country?s GDP, employs about 60% of the country?s formal labour force and contributes about 43% to the total wage bill.
"The success of the SMME sector is therefore critical for economic development, so the fact that businesses have gone through the Believe Begin Become programme and have survived the recession is a testimony to the programme success in nurturing business talent," says Sampson.
Technoserve and Standard Bank have this year also launched the Believe Begin Become Alumni Network which will create a home for 240 entrepreneurs who have been through the programmes since 2007. This network will create a platform for sharing and resolution of common challenges as well as support for the entrepreneurs as they grow their business.
"We believe that our commitment to South Africa has to manifest itself in hard work, ongoing partnerships, an abiding willingness to share and learn," Tshabalala says.
"The alumni network represents an opportunity for us to take our partnership with Technoserve and our entrepreneurs to a level where we can make a sustainable difference to their businesses," he says.
"The network will enable entrepreneurs to continue talking to one another, formally and informally, share best practice, share resources and endeavour to ensure that they are not alone as they pursue their entrepreneurship goals. I am a firm believer that every astute business person has to be willing to share his or her knowledge, and in turn be willing to receive knowledge from colleagues and mentors."
Tshabalala says the Believe Begin Become programme has already helped to develop 240 entrepreneurs with real businesses and real potential to make a significant difference to the economy of South Africa. "We now look forward to mentoring and guiding these rural entrepreneurs and ensuring that their entry into mainstream business is not fraught with obstacles," he says.
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