As the African National Congress (ANC) launched its election manifesto this past weekend and celebrated its 107^th anniversary, the party hailed its achievements over the past 25 years. It’s important to remember that the ANC’s successes are also Africa’s successes. That’s because across the continent, the Ubuntu concept remains relevant to all and when one country succeeds, others are likely to succeed. The alluring idea that ANC could have achieved much more over the past 25years is something we still have to scientifically test if one acknowledges the burdens, challenges and mistakes of the apartheid past. Though one must also admit that the past decade has not entirely been citizen and country-centred.

A decade or so ago, election year for most African countries created fearful uncertainty and a severe lack of trust among voting citizens for the often dubious, power-hungry candidates. This resulted in both pre and post-election violence, fuelled by morally deficient leaders not willing to accept outcomes and wanting to prolong their term within a “democratic state”.

Photo Source: Jacaranda FM

Fortunately, Africa is now steering itself towards genuine free and fair election processes, but it’s by no means there yet, as many countries continue to delay results, restrict freedom of speech and ban social and traditional media, amidst vote rigging and corruption allegations. Yet any party, governing or challenging, is certain to also have an element of voter’s distrust and the ANC has its share too.

Moving on, Africa’s two economic giants, Nigeria (February) and South Africa (May), are heading to the polls this year. Nigeria has had its problems over the years, such as corruption, a lack of adequate infrastructure and endorsing policies that deter investors. Amidst this, the country is now promising to clean up its act and ensure that its citizens and specifically its youth – the primary future economic drivers of any country – are prioritized and supported to reach full potential.

This is something I cannot stress enough, because if any country stifles its youth, it suffocates its economy. Whether Nigeria achieves this or not is yet to be seen as similar promises been given today by politicians on the campaign trail has been heard before.

Back to the manifesto, the ANC achievement’s list over the years included transforming the future of millions of young people by massively expanding enrolment in schools, universities, colleges and early childhood development programmes. Although many analysts said there was nothing new in the President’s speech, a few things should be acknowledged, one being that he recognized the party’s shortcomings and is garnering various social partners to support his mission to address such.

Acutely aware that unemployment, which now stands at a crisis rate of over 9 million, the ANC’s manifesto also made bold mention of creating over 275 000 jobs per annum, something that does inspire confidence. Yet remember Africa, manifestos are basically political promises, which are designed to lure and secure voters. So these are promises that cannot be broken. The manifestos must be satisfactorily aligned with ensuring that proper and capable cadres are deployed to implement the vision of the party. Also non-cadres but qualified people must also be considered for various positions.

The ANC’s promise included establishing an Infrastructure Fund. It added that it will open new emerging companies by ending monopolies and anti-competitive behaviour. It will draw more women, rural people and youth into the economy by expanding access to digital skills and training young people by developing and supporting technological and digital start-ups, with a more concerted focus on SMMEs, cooperatives and township/village-based enterprises.

Increased access to education and skills development for more young South Africans is another feather in the governing party’s cap and music to my ears. The commitment to upskill the youth in data analytics, coding, the internet of things, blockchain and machine learning aligned to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, I warmly welcomed as a self-starter and a dedicated start-up champion.

With over a dozen African countries heading to polls this year, the key question is how have all the potential leaders prioritised education, entrepreneurship and the hugely significant role that young people play in their manifesto? Let’s hope that the continent as a whole strives to be a real, youth-empowering developmental continent.

Today, it really is becoming one Africa for all. The Africa Free Trade Continental agreement and the African Union’s continental passport invites us to seamlessly think and act continentally and realise that each of our countries can – and should – work together for our mutual development. We must always ask ourselves, have we prioritised and done all we can for our youth?

I hope all those countries heading to the polls this year will ensure free, fair and peaceful democratic elections, which will benefit the people and not the party.

Remember, the citizens, the world and investors are watching…

Kizito Okechukwu is the co-Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Africa – 22 on Sloane, Africa’s largest start-up campus.

 

 

 

If you own an online retail platform in today’s world, it is a brilliant opportunity to take advantage of the new technology trends and boost your weekly or monthly income. Thanks to emerging technology, innovation and data analytics, the ecommerce industry is building a strong base for a more comfortable customer experience. The size of the e-commerce market is estimated to be $23 trillion which amounts to around 32% of the global GDP. This is according to the Unctad – Rising Product Digitalisation and Losing Trade Competitiveness 2017 Report. One other interesting fact is the estimation of the Digital Economy, which is said to be around $16.2 trillion, that’s 22% of the global GDP.  

The growth of the digital economy in Africa has created new opportunities for all entrepreneurs and businesses, one they leverage on to expand their market access, benefit from economies of scale and access to various opportunities within the value chain production.

PHOTO: Unctad: Africa E-Commerce Week

2 000 people from 60 countries recently took part in the UNCTAD’s Africa E-commerce week, which was co-organized with the African Union and the European Union. It was an event that had over 60 sessions convened to examine the different ways to help enhance the readiness of African countries to trade online and to also totally digitize their economy.

Throughout the week business representatives, founders & industry experts highlighted key areas of focus such as – trade logistics, legal & regulatory frameworks, skills development & payment solutions.  If you are considering what plans to focus on for your ecommerce business in 2019, here are five tips that could get you started!

#1   Consumer Trust

Let’s say you are walking down the street on a beautiful day, approaching you is a man who starts a simple conversation with you. He then asks if you will be interested in buying a highly discounted Zara clothing item. Hey! Whether it’s Versace, Gucci or Zara. We all want one, right? The question is, would you consider purchasing this item sold by someone random on the streets?

Customer trust is affected by most aspects of ecommerce. The E-commerce Foundation’s annual report on ecommerce around the world (which last year included African research for the first time), shows that consumers are concerned about: online payments, delivery, hidden costs, taxes on cross-border purchases, how the seller protects their personal data, and their right to return goods which do not come up to their expectations. The order in which these concerns fall depends on the country, but these six issues are always in the top eight worries.

So, how can you improve consumer trust to help enhance your revenue? Well:

• Improve your security: Once a potential customer visits an ecommerce site and notices that there is no SSL certificate, they probably won’t (or shouldn’t) use that platform to transact.  
• Another solution – “Trustmark” supported by a dispute resolution and guarantee that the seller applies relevant national consumer protection regulations or an industry self-regulatory code of best practice.  “Trustmarks” started in Europe and the USA. The Safe.Shop trustmark was launched to provide for cross-border ecommerce within Europe.  “Safe.Shop” has also been adopted in a number of non-European countries, including Brazil, Hong Kong, South Africa and Kenya.
• Learn to under – promise and over – deliver: One thing you always want to avoid is your customer feeling cheated by you, this has an impact on your credibility. News about bad customer service often travels faster than good service.
• Be all about customer service: Make it 100% about them.
• You’ve got to be socially active. Building visibility shows you have nothing to hide.

#2   Mobile Technology

Once upon a time, sites could only be viewed by people with desktops. But those numbers are declining now. One major technological advancement responsible for that is the mobile technology. If it is online, then it has to be responsive, smartphones are now an integral part of human life. 

Sub – Saharan Africa has over 420 million mobile subscribers with a 43% penetration rate. Wait! That’s not all; by 2020 this is expected to hit over half a billion. This makes Africa the fastest growing market. Tell me why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of this? These stats were published as part of the Global 2017 Mobile Economy Report by the GSM Association (GSMA) trade organization.

#3   New Customers

Personalization and customer experience will be the holy grail for e-commerce businesses in 2019. In fact, early on in 2017, 33% of retailers said that personalization was a priority for them. If you are able to deliver a positive customer experience, this will indirectly attract new customers to your brand.  Shopify recently published an article which talked about providing an exceptional e-commerce customer experience by creating an important and memorable event for clients which in turn translates to an increase in brand favourability and loyalty.

#4   Digital PR

We all know that marketing can be very expensive, and doesn’t always achieve its aims, which is why Digital PR has become a popular marketing strategy. It is used by marketers to increase their online visibility. If what you’ve been using is not working. It’s time to do a recheck and think again. If your site is not getting the position you want it to get, your golden ticket can be by using an experienced Digital PR & Marketing Consultant.  If you have a very limited budget hire an intern or a recent graduate. To succeed you will need high-quality pictures & personalized experiences.  This can be done with a modest budget and innovative thinking. 

#5: Data Ownership

There are different ways to go about enhancing your ecommerce platform when it comes to data ownership. I’m talking about owning your own data management platforms. For example, Netflix is able to take charge and control their user data today because they own it.

One might also look at customer data. Using your clients’ data to enhance your customer satisfaction is key to success, and a great way to increase the conversion rate for your online shop.

• Take note of why you have an increase in visitors on your site but not an increase in the conversion rate.
• Analyzing your traffic sources.
• And lastly, find out why potential customers abandon their shopping cart.

You need data for all of this. Take note of the data you collect and own it. But be aware of the regulations that govern the collection of personal data – particularly if you are selling cross-border.  

Conclusion

80% of pledges for personal improvement are largely ditched by February. In business though, it’s essential to have goals, and the New Year brings the perfect opportunity to reflect and assess what these should be. Given the opportunities and increasing the market size of the E-commerce industry. Having these resolutions will not only increase your revenue, but it will also improve on a global scale your brand loyalty and bring in new customers which we all need in the coming year.

Alesimo Mwanga

 

 

In the midst of the 2018 Global Citizen Festival, themed Demand Freedom, Defeat Poverty which is closely aligned with the United Nations‘ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end extreme global poverty by 2030, I thought it relevant to share the latest activities and developments at 22 on Sloane, regarding the creation of a strong and sustainable social economy.

But first, what exactly is social economy? Various definitions explain that social economy is formed by a rich diversity of enterprises and organisations, such as cooperatives and social enterprises, sharing common values.

A social economy looks at creating new sustainable solutions for various needs and issues that have not been prioritized in our communities. It looks at building a strong, sustainable, prosperous and inclusive society. The four key activities at 22 on Sloane this week proved that the social economy is something to really focus on.

 

PHOTO: Kreativ Afrika Media

Sessions with Kamran Elahian, Global Innovation Catalyst

Last Monday, Kamran hosted several sessions to discuss various issues with stakeholders. His key mission was to understand the entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the current social economic landscape, and explore areas to collaborate with various stakeholders. Today, he is a global innovation advisor to 500 start-ups. As an Innovation Catalyst, he advises various governments on the transition needed from fossil-based economies to sustainable innovation economies. In the past, as a global high-tech entrepreneur, he co-founded ten companies and had six exits; three of which were Unicorn IPOs with a total cap of over $8bn. He was also the Chairman of Global Catalyst Partners with over $350m under management.

The African Odyssey summit, championed by Carol Bouwer

The African Odyssey is a beauty and fashion business summit, focusing on empowering and rethinking the economy of fashion and beauty. Sponsored by the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), amongst others, the event hosted at 22 on Sloane was attended by guests from all over the world, including local stars such as David Tlale, Nomzamo Mbatha and DJ Fresh, to name a few. The platform paid specific attention to developing social solutions for the two industries and ways to create inclusive value.

The Swaziland/South Africa Youth Exchange Programme

What better way to start inculcating a strong sense of social economics, than from the youngest age possible?

22 on Sloane hosted 21 youths from Swaziland as part of its exchange programme, who spent the weekend interacting with their peers from South Africa. Here, the focus was on completing design thinking challenges to develop solutions for the most pressing issues they face within their communities. This marked the end of our youth programme for the year, which saw numerous weekends of learning to start new ventures, to code and create value for their communities. Their evident commitment and passionate participation showed that they derived great value from the programme and left well-equipped to transform, build and sustain their communities.

A Social Economy Policy event, hosted by Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development

This event focussed on creating a policy on social economy in partnership with the International Labour Organisation, the Government of Flanders and the Industrial Development Corporation. The session was broken down into four groups and each group was given specific tasks, with the minister participating in all, stressing that “we must show passion in what we believe and the different thinking we need to accomplish our social economic goals. We must also get the business side right. Yes, it’s about having the heart, but ensuring sustainability is equally important.”

Here are a few key take-out points from his address:

• Social enterprises need quicker access. Instead of always focusing on structure, let’s pay attention to delivery and outcome.

• Social enterprises and the social economy must embrace the necessity for change with the coming of the 4th industrial revolution.

• Take the existing models in townships and improve them. Also investigate and unlock new opportunities in communities. Burial societies are a good example of cooperatives, which hold sustainable value and create economic opportunities.

• The dynamics of social economy must not be compromised. Take service delivery as a basic example. A food vendor’s car breaks down on the way to the busy business area in the community, a loss for everyone. But social enterprise does not mean that delivery is compromised. Remember, creating a sustainable social economy faces many unforeseen challenges, such as technical and human dynamics, to name a few.

• With the Competition Commission, we have coordinated that small players can join forces to bid for opportunities. They need to organize themselves and use all available instruments within the community to weave through and build a great base.

Speaking recently at the Centre for Entrepreneurs lecture in London, the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also highlighted on the social economy and the importance of building, saying that we frequently don’t build the best technology platforms to tackle big social challenges, because often there is no immediate promise of commercial return. He added that there are a million e-commerce apps, but not enough speciality platforms for safely sharing and analyzing data on homelessness, climate change or refugees.

As we round off the year, we must think about the communities around us that may not have the opportunity to celebrate the upcoming holidays or festive. How do we support them? How do we help them create value in their communities? How do we ensure that 2019 has a different outlook for them? I guess individuals like Patrice Motsepe and his wife Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe are a good example on how we can create a strong social economy. We don’t have to be as wealthy as them to impact our communities, we can do the little we can focusing on those around us.

Finally, building a social economy is a sine qua non for all nations and together we must tackle the issues facing our communities and find ways to ensure that our activities are always inclusive and supportive.

Kizito Okechukwu is the co-chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network – 22 on Sloane is Africa’s largest startups campus.

 

 

 

 

Recently, over 3000 delegates attended the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) at the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) 22 on Sloane campus, held in partnership with various private and public sector stakeholders.

With a captive audience of entrepreneurs at the GEW, we found that this was an opportune time and the ideal arena to investigate the significance of the political landscape in relation to businesses, specifically start-ups and those in the early growth stage. To this end we conducted a survey, which was completed by 300 respondents.

As campaigning for the 2019 national elections starts to move up a gear, various party ideologies are being bandied about, centred mostly on land reforms, economic prosperity (hand-in-hand with job creation), inclusion, leadership and transformation.

Small businesses, ecosystem builders and stakeholders, as well as the corporate sector are remarkably involved and engaged in the political process. What’s more, their political positions and ideologies are as diverse as the economy they fuel.

Our analysis provides keen insights into the political mindedness of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, that being how it regards the various policies and economic trajectories envisioned by the major parties.

It’s important to remember that entrepreneurship is deemed to be the backbone of any economy (and any country for that matter). Understanding their thought processes and views on the economy can support planning and development. Also, involving their inputs in policy decision-making is also essential for the much-needed transformation required to address the social reforms in this country. 

One aspect on which nearly all agreed upon, regardless of party affiliation, is that in the years to come, all our political parties should be less party-focused and more people-focused – inclusive and transformative.

Over half of our respondents were aged between 26 and 35, mostly start-ups (31%) and in the early growth stage of business (24.20%). 

 

The key findings from the 300 respondents are provided below in two sections.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL SURVEY RESULTS

As Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrations begin to wind down in as many as 170 countries over the weekend, a group of startup-savvy policymakers and advisors have gathered in Surabaya, Indonesia, to explore innovative approaches being deployed to help stimulate the creation and growth of new businesses. The Startup Nations Summit is held each November as the official capstone to GEW when millions participate in 35,000 events, activities and competitions across the world.

For the second year in a row, the Summit features a policy hack where seven teams of public and private sector leaders, guided by experienced mentors, design policy solutions to real-world challenges restricting the growth of entrepreneurs in their countries.

Team leaders hail from Argentina, Brazil, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa and Turkey with challenges such as increasing the number of women investors and attracting high-skilled immigrants, amongst others.

 

An increased participation of African delegates joined and participated at this year’s annual SNS meeting in Surabaya, Indonesia.  Another important achievement by team Africa at this important summit is that South Africa will host the 2019 edition of the Start-up Nations Summit in November 2019. This will be the first time the Summit is held in Africa and will look to focus on ways to enhance the African entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The South African delegation was led by Linton Mchunu, Chief of Staff for the Ministry of Small Business Development.  Mchunu says “Over the past 10 years, a new field has emerged in public policy around smarter ways for governments to enable the founders of new firms to start and scale more quickly in pursuit of economic stability and job creation. As more entrepreneurial societies have taken root, disruptive technologies have been unleashed on traditional industries bringing new, unfamiliar regulatory challenges to governments” Mchunu further added that “the Department of Small Business Development led by Minister Lindiwe Zulu, has been consistent in promoting a culture of entrepreneurship and creating a dynamic entrepreneurship which would contribute to the aspirations of the National Development Plan (NDP) specifically, the reduction of poverty, inequality and unemployment, which are common challenges globally, especially for developing countries.”

Leading to this global summit, early on this year, Johannesburg hosted the first Startup Nations Policy Hack in May 2018.  Over 50 stakeholders gathered at GEN22 on Sloane to hack policy solutions that addressed various policy barriers that hindered the startup ecosystem in South Africa.  The winning solution led by Jak Koseff, a Chief Director at the Gauteng Premiers Office, focused on elevating the procurement policies of government by spatially targeting quotas for procurement of goods and services from SMMEs, and better enabling pipelines of SMMEs from disadvantaged areas. The policy proposal, working with a team of senior officials from across Africa including from Nigeria and Kenya, was elevated and refined for the global policy hack in Surabaya.

Under the title of “Digitizing Procurement of SMME inclusion”, the team focused on enabling the 60-80% of African SMMEs that are considered informal to evolve into suppliers to both government and public sector value chains.

The solution, presented by Koseff as team leader, that won second place in Surabaya outlined what the team called the 3 D’s :

• enabling Discovery – using digitization via mobile phones to make informal firms visible as potential contractors and service providers , As well as provoking the state – and then corporates –  to find or build a pipeline of SMMEs in the most deprived areas , at the bottom of the pyramid .
• enabling De-risking – using the data gathered via digital means and  via the process of  supporting SMMEs to make it less risky for govts and corporates  to procure from SMMEs and for banks to finance them when they do get contracts
• Enabling Delivery by building programmatic support into main contracts to enable SMMEs from the bottom of the pyramid to be effective sub-contractors and to grow in to fully fledged suppliers

The policy team which produced this solution included the following representatives:

• Alesimo Mwanga, Research Director, GEN Africa – 22 on Sloane, South Africa;
• Florence Kimata, SME Advisor to the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade & Cooperatives, Kenya;
• Shehu Abdulkadir, Special Assistant to the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria

The African Team are in the process of working together to design, test and implement the refined proposed digital procurement solution with the support of global mentors.  In 2019, the first phase of testing will take place in South Africa & Kenya, the final beta version in Nigeria. The initial phase draws upon work done by the Gauteng Provincial government as well as national level initiatives in Kenya and Nigeria.   Results from the proposed tool will be shared with the wider community for further development and public input towards the end of 2019.

 

Alesimo Mwanga – Research Director

GEN Africa – 22 on Sloane

 

 

 

In its ongoing drive to support communities and stimulate business growth and development, Fortress REIT Limited partnered with 22 ON SLOANE to fund the next wave of emerging entrepreneurs across South Africa.

Earlier this year, some 87 eager start-ups were selected for 22 ON SLOANE’s Residency Programme. 22 ON SLOANE entered into a new and exciting partnership with Fortress REIT Limited to help South African start-ups scale, which includes awarding seed grants and access to additional technical support to the new intake for 2019. Since 2018, start-up residents at the campus have relished the opportunity to engage with various in-house support teams, build and polish their products, network and access various markets.

Of the initial 87 selected, 67 remain, boasting combined revenue of over USD7million and employing around 250 staff.

 

Jodie Ellinor-Dreyer, from Fortress REIT Limited, said “This is just the start. We hope to drive change and support more emerging businesses and the youth in their quest to grow. We look forward to a long and sustainable partnership with 22 ON SLOANE.”

The current 67 startups operate in diverse sectors with 70% of them leading great technology initiatives that spans across various sectors. Twenty-five of the current 67 residents from diverse economic sectors were selected to receive a seed grant of up to R50 000 each from Fortress REIT Limited. They received this grant during the much-anticipated Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW),that took place from the 12 to 18 November 2018. The annual GEW is a highlight on any entrepreneur’s calendar. It’s a celebration of innovators and job creators who launch start-ups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. The week-long event held every November, inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities, designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. These activities range from large-scale competitions and events to intimate network gatherings, which connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors – introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities.

GEW is supported by dozens of world leaders and a network of more than 15 000 partner organizations. Over nine million people participate in GEW activities globally. The Global Entrepreneurship Network Africa encourages various ecosystem partners to host GEW events in their communities and cities and seek partnerships from public and private sector stakeholders to support their activities.

This year, various South Africa ecosystem role players hosted more than 200 events across the country with a combined attendance of more than 20,000 people and 22 ON SLOANE also hosted its own activities.

Kizito Okechukwu, co-Chair of GEN Africa, thanked all partners for supporting 22 ON SLOANE, as well as those that champion other events within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “For us, developing and supporting start-ups should remain our lifeblood; we should celebrate GEW every day and we urge other stakeholders to do the same”, he said.

 

For the 2019 Residency Programme, start-ups in the following sectors are encouraged to apply for residency:

Agriculture/agro-processing, E-commerce, Edu-tech, Fin-tech, Gaming, Health, Renewable Energy, Robotics, Transport and Manufacturing.

For applications, please visit www.22onsloane.co/residency-programme/

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW the list of the 25 Startups that received R50k seed grants

 

	Name & Surname	Business name	Sector	Description
1	Muralli Naidu	Autoadviser	Auto-Tech	Using AI technology, Auto Advisor empowers consumers in the automotive space to make more informed decisions on car purchases, dealership choices and maintenance costs and to promote choice by allowing consumers to voice and share their experiences on a trusted community-based platform.
2	Simphiwe Nkula	Khamzimla IT Solutions	Fin-Tech	Khazimla IT Solutions (Pty) Ltd is information, communications and technology company that focuses on providing integrated, mobile point of sale solutions, order management and cashless pay solutions for stakeholders within the informal trade sector. (the product is Info Trade App)
3	Taher Moosa	Anylytical Technologies	ICT	The company use modern frameworks, tools and agile methodologies to deliver cutting edge solutions with minimal technical debts. They develop bespoke software solutions, offer advice on what technical route to follow, verify how stable and maintainable your code is, architecture review and software process review.
4	Warren Fritz	BMC Firm	Health-Tech	Health Advisor is an app – based solution for the medical aid market which improves the healthcare plan buying and management process for consumers and enhances the customer relationship management between medical aid customers and their advisor/broker.
5	Tumelo Monyai	Ndiza Aviation Solutions	Aviation	Ndiza Aviation Solutions is a provider of world class aviation solutions, tailored to meet the unique requirements of the aviation industry. They specialise in Aviation Cartography, Flight Procedure Design, Aeronautical Survey and Geographical Information System.
6	Banele Lukhele	LukArts	Education	Luk Arts specializes in designing and rolling out creative arts based programmes to teach content, mainly in Mathematics, Science and English. Each programme is designed to be a fit for the client’s needs, looking specifically at learning styles, subject choices and resources available.
7	Mqondisi Mhlanzi	Prime Time Studios	Media-Tech	As an internet based broadcasting company, Primetime Studios offers premium television content to paying subscribers across the country and the African continent. The channel aims to focus on Sports Lifestyle Content, Popular Culture, Travel, Current Affairs, Films, and Documentaries all from an African perspective.
8	Golden Hlongwane	Magumuza Foods	Food and Beverage	Magumuza focuses on manufacturing food ingredients (spices, sauces) and the supply of food products to retail entities.
9	Melusi Ngwenya	Dlloyd Creative Enterprise	Digital services	Dlloyd is a startup that provides bar-coding, labelling and digital printing services.
10	Moabelo Nzimande	African Make	Manufacturing	African Make designs, supplies and rents unique and niche furnishings made from scrap tyres. These tyres offer comfort safety and pure relaxation in residential and commercial areas.
11	Sandile Mtshiki	Phola Table	Manufacturing	Auto table has a versatile vehicle accessory that is both ideal and appropriate for motorists to utilise outdoors.
12	Koketsi Molefi	Thaga Engineering	Engineering	Thaga Engineering renders engineering, construction, maintenance and consulting services to the power and petro-chemical Industry.
13	George Sindane	Galattica Technologies	ICT	Galattica Technologies is a startup that focuses on ICT support for small and medium sized businesses.
14	Bontle Moeng	BizNiz Africa	Media	BizNis is a startup independent online trade and investment news website that focuses on Africa’s 3 major business economic sectors such as: ICT, Mining, Energy.
15	Siphokazi Magcoba	Sweet Gift Catering	Food and Beverage	Sweet Gift is a startup food and beverage company which focuses on providing catering services for small and medium businesses. Sweet Gift company was contracted in January 2018 as the in-house caterer for 22 on Sloane for a period of one year.
16	Francis Mande	Rejanala Farms	Agro-processing	A rural based agri-business entity with a mission to enhance food security, create the much needed sustainable jobs for the marginalised and build rural economies into mainstream economies.
17	Nokwazi Mzobe	Matoyana Consulting	Education	Matoyana is a boutique business consultancy agency with the single minded focus of enabling South Africa’s growing entrepreneurship economy. Targeting startups, small and medium enterprises, Matoyana’s business training and toolkit and expertise is all about promoting a culture of entrepreneurship, innovative thinking and sustainable business.
18	Maletuma Maile	Basotho Heart	Food and Beverage	Manufacturing of home-style, non-alcoholic ginger beer that draws from the health benefits of the ginger root.
19	John Golden	Digital Display Technologies	Digital services	Provides indoor and outdoor digital signage solutions for marketing and communication purposes.
20	Napo Mopeli	Setsumi Agency & Trading Enterprises	Renewable Energy	Setsumi Agency and Trading Enterprise (Pty) Ltd t/a SAT Enterprise use primary agricultural produce and by-products to produce green energy and processed products like, cooking oil, juice, peanut butter, animal feed, etc.
21	Tebogo Mashego	Ditsogo Projects	Manufacturing and Engineering	Ditsogo Projects specializes in metal fabrication and steel engineering services. They specialise in; Metal fabrication, Steel Engineering Services, Rolling Stock-underground material and explosive cars, Structural steelwork- carports, fencing, hopper & chutes, Conveyor structures- idlers, rollers, stairways, floor gratings, handrails, Supply of steel tubing and gratings   Add-On Services: Hydraulic and Pneumatic Cylinder repairs, CNC Turning, Sleeves-Diff housing, taper, cradle, trunnion, bucket Pulleys-Air-con, idler, tensioner, Pins and Bushes-Articulation, link, steering, Repairs and maintenance of Excavators, Front end loaders, TLB, Plant Hire and Transport.
22	Blessing Ngorima	Aero 247	Drone Tech	Aero 247 offers professional and world class drones engineering, training in manufacturing, design, modelling, analysis, coding, embedded systems, MATLAB, CATIA, CFD, repair, maintenance & operations of drones through a certificate and diploma course and industry relevant seminars & workshop
23	Whitney Jacobs	Employ Me	HR-Tech	EmployMe South Africa (employmesa.com) is a web application that aims to reduce the cost of attending interviews by giving jobseekers the opportunity to upload a short video to accompany their online profile so that employers can get an idea of their personality, which is an important factor in assessing their cultural fit.
24	Lethabo Mashamaite	Arnot Ash	Manufacturing	Arnot Ash is established with the objective of buying / acquiring Flying Ash to sell to the market for profit. Fly Ash is a by-product of the coal combustion process, derived from burning pulverized coal in electric power generating plants. When mixed with cement and water, Fly Ash becomes cementitious, which improves long-term strength of concrete.
25	Jonathan Maphosa	Maphosa Attorneys	Legal-Tech	Maphosa Attorneys is a Law Firm with unique legal technology interests backed up by a research and development team comprised of lawyers, data analysts and software developers that specialise in Artificial intelligence (AI) and its legal practice applications. They have developed various legal toolkits that make  use of AI in legal research, legal documentation mining in discovery and due diligence, automated machine responses to routine legal queries, case law and data  analysis to predict case outcomes and smart contract drafting are just a few examples of our research and development areas in the realm of legal AI with the objective of establishing more efficient, faster and cheaper access to justice and legal services by making use of their intelligent software.

 

 

 

 

Microsoft launches Head Start: an end-to-end program built to help tech startups grow

 To win, you have to begin. Microsoft offers technology, community, and go-to-market benefits to help startups grow.

 Monday, 12 November 2018, Johannesburg – Microsoft launches Head Start: an end-to-end program built to help tech startups grow– Microsoft South Africa today launches Head Start – a support program that boosts tech startups by giving them open access to wide-ranging skills development resources, coaches and mentors, a fully-fledged customer network, and the platform on which to build their products and services.

Head Start is a complete program that will help tech startups innovate in the most trusted cloud – Azure – while strengthening the local startup system and preparing them to sell to global marketplace. South Africans who want to take their tech business to the next level can register and join the Microsoft South Africa Head Start programme here.

 

“As a company whose mission it is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more, we get how critical entrepreneurship is, especially in the South African context where job creation is vital if we are to improve our economy,” says Lionel Moyal, Commercial Partners Lead at Microsoft South Africa.

The Economic Impact of IT and Microsoft in South Africa Report Microsoft recently undertook with IDC shows how IT job opportunities are growing three-times faster than national job opportunities. “We want to give as much support to tech startups as we can to make South Africa more globally competitive, and create jobs, but, if we don’t have skilled South Africans to fill these jobs it will be at a loss. Many of these amazing opportunities run the risk of being lost in the country due to the current skills gap that exists, which we’re working hard to close,” he says.

The report shows how cloud computing is driving massive growth in IT^[1]. Over the next five years – between 2017 and 2022 – the adoption of cloud services will generate nearly 112,000 net new jobs in South Africa, of which Microsoft will contribute to 44% of the available opportunities, offering 53,000 net new jobs in South Africa. In today’s economic environment, that’s substantial.

To succeed, tech startups need three specific doors to open: the Technology door, the Business Development door and the Compliance, Regulation and Legal door. “A key differentiator of the Head Start program is the direct access to coaches and mentors that candidates have to guide them through these three key areas, with over 50 Microsoft South Africa staff volunteering to mentor. Candidates just need to schedule an hour meeting with various business experts from multiple fields across the business, and they’ll get one-to-one expert advice straight from those in the know,” says Moyal.

The three mentoring categories are defined as follows:

• Technology: App development, Data and AI, DevOps, Cloud Platform, Security, Business Apps, Modern Workplace
• Business: Marketing, HR, Finance, Business Development
• Legal: GDPR, Security, Compliance and Legal

The business benefits for tech startups are multiple and immediate. When candidates join the Microsoft Partner Network, they instantly become part of a global community that connects them to the relationships, insights, tools, resources, and programs needed to amaze customers and drive growth. Signing up to Head Start means direct access to digital coaching and training, live events, and more. With all types of internationally-recognised qualifications and certifications offered by Microsoft Head Start, tech startups can vastly improve their knowledge and boost their organisation’s trajectory.

Moyal explains that through Head Start, Microsoft South Africa can help grow tech startup businesses by opening the right doors at every stage of the journey. And with over ten high-level partners involved in Head Start, the added value proposition is hard to resist. Candidates can look up the partners on the Head Start website.

“When we talk about empowerment, we simply mean that with the right tools, anyone can become anything. By connecting tech startups with a worldwide network of customers, cloud architects, business development experts, and the latest cloud technologies, Microsoft wants to nurture and evolve these startups into fully-fledged Microsoft partners themselves. The ecosystem itself is far bigger than Microsoft, but by backing the bold entrepreneurial spirit of the brave tech startup, we can bring real change to the future of the country and the continent. There’s no better investment,” concludes Moyal.

The launch of Microsoft Head Start coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week (12 – 18 November 2018), where millions are inspired to unleash their ideas, start and scale new businesses, and connect to potential collaborators, policymakers, researchers, mentors and even investors.

 

 

 

 

This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) got off to a flying start yesterday with the South Africa launch taking place at the 22 on Sloane start-up campus in Bryanston.

The eagerly-awaited event attracted over 500 entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders which included start-ups, investors, policymakers and various incubator and accelerator networks. Lindiwe Zulu, the Minister of Small Business Development, officially launched the week and welcomed all to what is set to be a jam-packed and dynamic cauldron of vibrant entrepreneurial energy. The minister also participated in the panel discussion that focused on how technology can be a vital enabler to help solve the burgeoning youth unemployment crisis.

 

The Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators who launch start-ups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. During one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. These activities range from large-scale competitions and events to intimate network gatherings, which connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors – introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities.

 

GEW is more than just an awareness campaign, it is a global platform for connection and collaboration, engaging all players in the entrepreneurship spectrum and strengthening international ecosystems, supported and endorsed by dozens of world leaders. GEN Africa encourages various ecosystem partners to host events in their communities and cities and seek partnerships from big and small businesses to support their activities.

 

I have strongly stated that over the years, many, if not most of the start-ups that have managed to scale were inspired by the GEW’s strong ethos and contagious spirit. It continues to inspire many to do so by supporting, understanding, celebrating and connecting the entire entrepreneurship ecosystem. Last year’s GEW statistics were absolutely phenomenal. Over 167 countries participated with 17 000 partners, 39 000 events, eight million people and a whopping USD$159million in play. In South Africa alone, more than 60 events were held with some 15 000 people participating. Invaluable testimony to the event’s global staying power.

 

This year, South Africa will host around 100 events. These include a full week of activities at 22 on Sloane with each day having its own theme. Taking place tomorrow (Wednesday) is the Microsoft Tech day – definitely a highlight not to be missed, which will incorporate the launch of the Microsoft HeadStart programme. This focuses on supporting tech start-ups in South Africa and will help:

 

• Improve your knowledge and your organization’s trajectory with all types of training and certifications offered by Microsoft HeadStart.
• Open the right doors at every stage of your journey by connecting you with a worldwide network of customers, cloud architects, business development experts and the latest cloud technologies.
• Build the right solution with expert support.
• Grow your customer base by introducing you to its extensive worldwide network of enterprises, governments and other start-ups from around the world.
• Ensure compliance, regulation and assistance with business-based legal matters.
• Grow and evolve your tech start-up into a fully-fledged Microsoft partner.

The Microsoft Tech Day will also offer sessions on Cloud Computing, Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, to name a few, which includes building an AI station from scratch on the day.

Included in the programme is a Youth and Social Entrepreneurship Day, which will be led by SAB Foundation on Thursday and a Funding Day on Friday, which will be led by the Industrial Development Corporation and various Venture Capitalists.

 

To find activities happening in your community/city, visit: https://genglobal.org/south-africa

To attend GEW events at 22 on Sloane, visit: https://www.22onsloane.co/gew/

Kizito Okechukwu is the co-Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), 22 on Sloane is Africa’s largest startup campus.

 

 

 

The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Africa 22 on Sloane has launched its 2019 Startup residency programme which aims to attract over 100 startups to join its startup campus in Bryanston. This will mark the second year of its residency programme.

The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates a platform of programmes in 173 nations aimed to encourage the start and scale of new and young businesses. The 2019 applications will focus mainly on inviting Tech-based start-ups from the AgriTech; E-Commerce, EduTech, EnergyTech, FinTech, Gaming, HealthTech, Robotics and TransportTech sectors. In addition, start-ups from the agro-processing and large scale manufacturing sectors are also invited to apply. 22 on Sloane will be enlisting additional mentors and programme managers with technical expertise to support 100 of the start-ups which qualify for the 2019 residency programme. This year saw the appointment of the former Statistician General, Pali Lehohla, as a resident Research Advisor at 22 on Sloane and a few more appointments of learned and technical colleagues will be made over the next few months.

In 2018, 22 on Sloane selected 87 startups that joined its 2018 programme and have made a cash and kind investment to start-ups from its 2018 programme. Over 1000 applications were received in 2017 and 87 start-ups were selected for 2018 residency. The current number of resident start-ups is now at 60 with a combined revenue of over USD$7million, employing over 200 staff.

 

During the Global Entrepreneurship Week which takes place from 12-16 November at 22 on Sloane, startups will get the opportunity to pitch to a panel of judges for an opportunity to join the residency programme. During one week every November, thousands of events and competitions in more than 170 countries inspire millions to engage in entrepreneurial activity, while connecting them to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors. Powered by the Kauffman Foundation, the initiative is supported by dozens of world leaders and a network of more than 15 000 partner organizations.

 

The Global Entrepreneurship Week in South Africa will also offer various exciting sessions, masterclasses and networking sessions for entrepreneurs. The programme of the week will include:

 

• Monday 12 November 2018 – The Global Entrepreneurship Launch and Policy Day to be led by the Department of Small Business Development
• Tuesday 13 November 2018 – Agro-Processing and Manufacturing Day to be led by the Industrial Development Corporation and Nestle
• Wednesday 14 November 2018 – Technology Day to be led by Microsoft. Microsoft will launch its HeadStart programme for Tech startups in South Africa
• Thursday 15 November – Social Entrepreneurship Day to be led by SAB Foundation and Industrial Development Corporation
• Friday 16 November – Funding Day to be led by various Venture Capitals, and Development Financial Institutions.

Microsoft’s HeadStart programme aims to support ten tech-based start-ups by providing access to customers, mentors and the platform to build their products and services. These chosen few will be selected from 22 on Sloane’s annual call for 2019 residency at its campus, which attracts over 100 start-ups.

 

The HeadStart programme will help start-ups to innovate in the most trusted cloud, prepare them to sell to global firms, use any development tool/language and connect with their local community. The most challenging part of an entrepreneur’s life is opening doors. Through this programme Microsoft South Africa aims to help startups grow their business by opening the right door at every stage of your journey – by connecting them with worldwide network of customers, cloud architects, business development experts and latest and most innovative cloud technologies.

 

For more information on attending the Global Entrepreneurship Week, visit: https://www.22onsloane.co/gew/

 

For more information to apply for the startup residency programme, visit: https://www.22onsloane.co/residency-programme/

 

 

 

 

Last week, I was honoured to be invited to the now much-talked about Investment Conference, hosted by the South African Government. As I mingled among the various captains of industry, entrepreneurs, ministers and deputy ministers, premiers and members of civil society, there was a tangible aura of excitement in an environment abuzz with positivity.

A few weeks prior to attending the conference, my team and I were also afforded the invaluable opportunity to work with the organisers to look more closely at the start-up landscape in South Africa.

This included sending invites to the 15 accelerator networks in the country, urging them to make sure their start-ups stood a chance of participating in the conference.

Just the mere fact that this proposal of involving startups at the conference was heard was encouraging.

 

I also participated in the Impact Investment summit, which took place at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) the day before the investment conference. This focused on devising more efficient and effective ways to fast-track the deployment of capital to ensure social, environmental and financial returns. I strongly made the point to the panel that, over the years, capital deployment has been far too biased towards financial returns. An impactful investment looks beyond that and analyses the social and environmental impact of the investments made.

Back to the investment summit! The majority of the speakers were in unison about the importance of investing in South Africa and the great economic potential it possesses. This included the eager, work-hungry youth, the country’s gateway status to the continent and the keen understanding South Africa has regarding the value of partnerships and collaboration.

During the conference, many significant short/long term commitments and pledges were made. The President announced that the total investment raised at the conference is at R290bn, while the envoys have also received pledges of R400bn from various global institutions. The next step is signing on the dotted line and bringing these commitments back home.

For startups, I see the conference as a great opportunity. Here are some of the key investments I think are worth noting and some opportunities for startups to tap into:

Sappi R7.7bn ; Mondi R8bn: Vedanta Resources R21bn;Bushveld Minerals R2.5bn;

Anglo American R71.5bn; Rain R1bn; Mercedes Benz R10bn; Sumitono Rubber R970m

Sanral R9.5bn; Naamsa (the national group of car manufacturers) R40bn; Nestlé R663m; P&G R300m; McDonald’s R3bn; Aspen R3.3bn; Vodacom R50bn; Aqua Power R28.7bn; BRICS Development Bank R29bn; Multichoice R1bn; Tokio Marine R1.3bn and Green Climate Fund R1.3bn. Within all these, there are opportunities for startups to analyse value chains of these companies and explore potential collaboration with them.

 

 The other notable investments with direct benefits to the startups include:

 IDC R3.6bn: these funds are earmarked specifically to support entrepreneurs

• Amazon: The Company has committed to build the AWS cloud computing regional centre in (Cape Town) South Africa – significant as it allows start-ups to build on their platform.
• Mara R1.5bn: This is one of the most impressive investments. Ashish Thakkar Founder of Mara announced that he will be manufacturing cell phones from South Africa, making it one of the first African-made mobile devices.
• Naspers R6bn: Also impressive, as they have committed half of their investments to fund Tech start-ups.

 

Many, if not most of the investing company’s executives were quick to stress the importance of involving the communities in which they operate and to ensure that start-ups and small businesses are also prioritised and given more opportunity to benefit from these investments. Even Jack Ma dared everyone during the conference dinner not to underestimate startups.

It will be interesting to see if all these lucrative funding initiatives actually do in fact present small businesses with opportunities (I’m quietly confident they will). But I say this because any economy that leaves its start-ups in a cold, frustrating place does so at its peril.

In this regard, thriving economies like Germany and France are extremely important case studies for South Africa. Countries such as these are the industrial heartbeats, the banking bedrock of Europe at large, thanks to the abundance of SMEs in their value chains, which continue to help drive the economy of both their country and their continent and keep both sustainable.

We’ll all concur that the recently concluded investment conference is a big step in the right direction. Perhaps the next discussions should borrow from Europe and focus on how we build our own capable, strong and diversified SMEs that can support, boost and strengthen the economy.

Many of our start-ups have proven their economic worth and market viability. Now they’re champing at the bit to get off to a flying start with funding injections so they can fully commit to reaching their long term goals, those of their investors and substantiate their economic significance.

While they wait, I can almost hear them humming to The Rolling Stones classic, “If you start me up, I’ll never stop, never stop…”

Kizito Okechukwu is the co-chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), 22 on Sloane is Africa’s largest startup campus.

 

 

 

GEN Africa, which operates pan-African projects as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), announced today that it has selected Kigali to host its first GEC+Africa event, to be held 7-8 August 2019 at the Kigali Convention Centre.

GEC+Africa, a new initiative of GEN Africa that was launched in 2017 at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) in Johannesburg, will gather investors, startups, accelerators and other entrepreneurial support organizations from across the continent.

The announcement followed a visit to Rwanda where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between GEN Africa, led by Kizito Okechukwu, and the CEO of the Rwandan Convention Bureau, Denise Omany.

“After meeting with ministers, CEOs and most importantly young students, I am even more confident that Rwanda is an ideal place to convene entrepreneurs and those backing them seeking to scale Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and performance,” said Okechukwu.  “I have experienced both the warm hospitality and determination of Rwanda’s leaders in securing the rights to host this important event in Rwanda.”

GEC+Africa is aligned with the African Union Agenda 2063 “The Africa We Want,” which aims to create an Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth. This GEC+Africa will focus on six key sectors – agriculture, education, energy, e-commerce, finance, health, technology, and transportation.

 

Rwanda Convention Bureau Chief Executive Officer Mrs Denise B. Omany said that, “As MICE tourism destination, we are thrilled to be hosting a progressive event like GEC + Africa for the 1^st time. This event is expected to bring in 1000+ International delegates to participate in the event, any efforts to inspire and educate budding entrepreneurs is certainly encouraged here in Rwanda.

Post event, as Global Entrepreneurship Network are working on creating one global entrepreneurial ecosystem, we were pleased to learn that GEN in partnership with the Government of Rwanda will be opening the doors of their Rwanda branch, which will act as a HUB advancing research and creating new and innovative startups.”

Rwanda is a vibrant economy with energetic and motivated young people. The economy grew at 6.7% in the last quarter and recorded an unemployment rate of 16%. The government’s ambition to reshape and empower its youth after the 1994 genocide, is evident in the refurbished infrastructure and the various support and educational programmes that are in place. The country is also driving tourism and has made it a key focus area over the next few years.

 

GEC+Africa will also welcome African ministers – a vital missing link in the support system for entrepreneurs – who will discuss reforms for policies that continue to hinder the development of startups. The GEC+Africa ministerial meeting – held as part of the global Startup Nations Ministerial process – will be chaired by Vincent Munyeshyaka, Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry. It will be co-hosted by Rosemary Mbabazi, Rwandan Minister of Youth, and Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa, Rwandan Minister of Information Technology and Communications and about other 25 Ministers from the rest of the African continent.

As part of the road to this important event, Rwandans will celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week from the 9^th – 16^th of November, 2018 during which further details about GEC+Africa will be announced.

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About the Global Entrepreneurship Network

The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates a platform of programmes in 170 nations aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a viable business. GEN helps celebrate, understand, support and connect entrepreneurs and those who champion them.

GEN Africa brings together a broad collection of start-up ecosystem leaders throughout the continent to power the next generation of entrepreneurs in Africa. Its vision is to transform and scale the entrepreneurial landscape with customized support and development programs, connecting African startups – and the organizations that support them – to a global network that can help drive innovation and economic growth.

 

 

 

Over the past weekend, I watched a movie called Collateral Beauty starring Will Smith. He plays a successful New York advertising executive who suffers a great tragedy when his family dies. This made him instantly retreat from work, which compromised his business, seeing him lose both his clients and staff.

Will sought answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death on why this unfortunate event took place. His letters received ‘answers’ and he began to understand how these three constants interlock in a life fully lived and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

To set the premise for this article, collateral damage is defined as the damage left after an incident or tragedy to the unintended ‘victim’ or other persons, while collateral beauty is the positive or beauty of what comes after an incident or tragedy.

 

 

From an African experience perspective, our collateral damage is the continent’s high and rising unemployment rate, lack of risk appetite to invest in our start-ups and the severe absence of commitment from our leaders to improve the welfare of their citizens, especially the frustrated, market-hungry youth.

At this stage in our development, our experiences should be shaped on the collateral beauty that exists. The power, knowledge and opportunity that many of our youth present to us is undoubtedly a blessing for the continent, but why do we constantly turn a blind eye and not leverage their capabilities?

Every day, I meet many young bright sparks with brilliant concepts and I wish we could implement just 5% of their initiatives. Yet, nine times out of ten, their frustrations and the ever-present stumbling blocks force them to cower away and become just another nine-to-fiver, trying desperately to climb the never-ending corporate ladder.

Most governments try hard to offer big businesses incentives to create jobs. But the fact of the matter is they do not understand that big business cannot just create jobs, pull them out of thin air, so to speak. New jobs are needs-based according to the company’s business plan and must be budgeted for, no matter how rewarding the incentive is.

Last week, I spoke to several large corporate executives and many told me that it’s easier to pay R10 – 50 million to their advertising and marketing agencies than to create a single, entry level job for a low- or mid-skilled worker. Creating just one job is wrapped in red tape and requires memo after memo and signature after signature to justify it only for consideration.

 

But for small business owners, it’s a different scenario. Once they realise the need for additional human resources, they’re able to post the position immediately, justifying my opinion further that government needs to invest more in startups to help them grow, which in turn helps them to kick-start youth employment from the ground up.

Recently, one of our start-ups needed funding. She went through various DFI and government channels, yet was met constantly with the dreaded ‘F-word’. Frustration.

This stems from the fact that most in charge of funding and approvals do not actually even understand a business plan or a turnover forecast, as they have never run a business. I sit in boardrooms and often hear “that we have outsourced our most prized possession of investment capital to people that have no clue about what is going on”. Our start-up then chose the private capital route and boom, she got the funding she needed (and deservedly so I might add!) to take her business to the next level.

In his piece over the weekend, Andile Khumalo mentioned that the recently concluded jobs summit dilly-dallied over so many issues and lacked the strategy to advance long term benefit for the economy.

Minister Naledi Pandor in her published interview over the weekend also highlighted that platforms like the Jobs Summit are great and it’s good to talk about these things but talk should be followed by key actions and implementation. She also shared a story on how her kids took the courage to venture into starting their own businesses and are now doing pretty well. I believe entrepreneurship and investment in startups is that bold action that we can take. I argue that our strategy should be centred on the kind of economy we want to create. It should be centred on meeting real needs and also on the tangible power we possess as a nation and a continent. If we fail to strategically build our economy around our youth and start-ups, we will fail to make any difference. Those that come after us and take over in the next 50 to 100 years will judge us harshly and think we have failed them. This is definitely not the legacy we want to leave behind.

This is the time to embrace our collateral beauty from the collateral damage we suffered decades ago. The time for lip service is over. It’s time to invest in long-term, realistic strategies that will focus on building and creating new micro and macro economies – new giants – that will shape and secure Africa’s future. Many of our startups are doing amazing things from Agro-processing to Games Development, Mobile Development and all other sorts of industries. What they need is the belief and support to scale.

We must not be scared of the risk to invest in them. We must nurture, support and believe in our start-ups to reinvigorate our economy and mutually reap the benefits as one nation and continent.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself”.

 

Kizito Okechukwu is the co-Chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) – 22 on Sloane is Africa’s largest startup campus.