8 Cities, 6 Weeks, 1 Goal, 2176 Entrepreneurs
OUR DREAM
This how we kicked off our 2022 bold dream of creating 10,000 sustainable jobs, through what we believe will grow our economy- entrepreneurship! In October and November 2017, we embarked on a 6-week roadshow across the country visiting eight local communities. Our goal was very clear, to find South Africa’s top entrepreneurs who could qualify for our four entrepreneurial programmes. This is how our journey ended up reaching, inspiring and uplifting a total of 2,176 South African entrepreneurs, with businesses of all sizes to be part of the chain reaction of creating jobs!
WHAT ARE THE PROGRAMMES ABOUT?
The SAB Entrepreneurship Programme consists of four uplifting entrepreneurial development programmes which are:
- SAB Foundation (Business Development support for community based businesses)
- SAB KickStart (Business mentoring and Loan funding support for Youth businesses)
- SAB Thrive (Capital Growth support for BEE suppliers)
- SAB Accelerator (Business Development or Technical support for BEE suppliers)
These programmes are committed to providing tangible and sustainable support for businesses that drives growth in people and the country to enable job creation. Insert video about Durban road show
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
Before hitting the road, we defined three objectives that we needed to achieve:
Firstly, the roadshow needed to be impactful and add value to the entrepreneurs who would be attending. This was executed through training that we conducted for attendees, that consisted of morning and afternoon sessions, in which we covered the 5 principles of powerful pitching. We also had a deep dive into the Business Canvas Model and how this approach can assist with business operations.
Secondly, we knew that we needed to remain relevant to our audience especially given the abundant information age that we currently live in. As such we also used WhatsApp as a support tool where we shared on the spot, bite-size videos and various questions were answered by our mentors.
Lastly, we wanted to provide visible, hands on assistance to aspiring applicants that wanted to apply to our four programmes. We realised that as much as applications were received online, a physical extension of support for applicants is always greatly needed as some people needed guidance on which programmes can best suite their business needs.
CHANGING THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION!
We are thrilled to have supported a total of 2,176 entrepreneurs nationally through our roadshow! This showed us the fighting spirit of innovation, and the chasing down of opportunities and South Africa’s big dreamers. It was so powerful to see how these entrepreneurs have adapted their ideas and businesses to suit their environments.
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
This year we will be focused on rolling out our four programmes with the selected entrepreneurs, as well as providing continued support to the unsuccessful applicants through our innovative SAB Entrepreneurship TV and other relevant avenues. The aim is to have a greater impact on our communities through continued entrepreneurial support, even to those that are not yet ready to undergo development through our programmes. This we believe will certainly contribute greatly to our ambition of job creation and keep encouraging the everyday joe with a big dream that nothing is impossible.
POWER IN NUMBERS
We feel honoured to have collaborated with like-minded brands who shared our vision and joined us on this journey. Thank you to our youthful training partner - The Hook Up Dinner who delivered world-class training and were agile in adapting to every location.
To the national agencies SEDA & NYDA who were at every site through their regional representatives, extending business support and reach even post the roadshow.
We also wish to thank local government agencies such as the Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industry particularly for Free State, whose members showed up in numbers in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.
Lastly a big thank you to two of our programme beneficiaries who were selected to manage the logistics and brought the Entrepreneurship Programme CI to life at all the locations: Thuli Radebe of Eyam Projects- SAB KickStart beneficiary, and Yasmine Kazadi of Mercatique Consulting, SAB Lerumo beneficiary).
We look forward to an empowering, inspiring and thriving 2018! Let us know on Twitter what you have planned for this year? Find our page here @SABEntrepreneur.
