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Cape Town - Growing the pool of entrepreneurs will not only support the country by reducing social grants, boosting employment and lowering crime and poverty levels but will help to empower a huge chunk of the population, industry players said on Monday.
As Workers' Day on May 1 approaches, Annie McWalter, CEO of The Hope Factory, said this again brings unemployment into sharp relief.
“Entrepreneurs are often thought of as the silver bullet for solving the unemployment crisis, and with South Africa’s official overall unemployment rate sitting at 24.9%, entrepreneurship clearly needs to be encouraged.
“However, the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) shows that the local entrepreneurial climate is rather grim, with early stage entrepreneurial activities having taken a 20% knock in one year down to 7.3%.”
She said the GEM report also shows that only 2% of the total population who start an entrepreneurial business manage to sustain that business for longer than three-and-a-half years.
“By growing the pool of entrepreneurs, it is not only the individuals themselves that profit, but seven others also benefit indirectly – through food on the table, paid school fees and knowledge among other things,” she said.
Daryl Bartunsky, managing director of Student Brands, agreed that entrepreneurship is an effective solution to combating unemployment, especially among the youth.
“If one person creates their own business, not only have they created a job for themselves, but they have also made jobs available in the private sector that they would otherwise have occupied.
“And then there is the real possibility that they will create jobs for others as their businesses grow,” he said.
Both McWalter and Bartunsky said they are starting to see an increase in the support given to startups by larger companies. This is hugely positive, but entrepreneurship needs much more encouragement by all industry role players.
Bartunsky said South Africa does not have a strong enough support system to guide startup businesses and assist them with access to the necessary information on tax, business practice and legislation that will enable their business to succeed in a competitive market.
“Indeed, there is a need for greater support from other SMEs (small and medium enterprises), large companies and government, if we are to support our young entrepreneurs effectively.”
McWalter also said their experience has shown that mentorship is vital to grow small businesses and to help entrepreneurs overcome challenges.
To this end, The Hope Factory will this year mentor a total of 194 black entrepreneurs, made possible through enterprise development funding from a number of South African companies.
The Hope Factory also launched a Johannesburg entrepreneur support programme and runs skills development programmes and entrepreneur support programmes in Port Elizabeth.
The development of young entrepreneurs has been identified as crucial in growing the economy in the National Development Plan.
As Workers' Day on May 1 approaches, Annie McWalter, CEO of The Hope Factory, said this again brings unemployment into sharp relief.
“Entrepreneurs are often thought of as the silver bullet for solving the unemployment crisis, and with South Africa’s official overall unemployment rate sitting at 24.9%, entrepreneurship clearly needs to be encouraged.
“However, the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) shows that the local entrepreneurial climate is rather grim, with early stage entrepreneurial activities having taken a 20% knock in one year down to 7.3%.”
She said the GEM report also shows that only 2% of the total population who start an entrepreneurial business manage to sustain that business for longer than three-and-a-half years.
“By growing the pool of entrepreneurs, it is not only the individuals themselves that profit, but seven others also benefit indirectly – through food on the table, paid school fees and knowledge among other things,” she said.
Daryl Bartunsky, managing director of Student Brands, agreed that entrepreneurship is an effective solution to combating unemployment, especially among the youth.
“If one person creates their own business, not only have they created a job for themselves, but they have also made jobs available in the private sector that they would otherwise have occupied.
“And then there is the real possibility that they will create jobs for others as their businesses grow,” he said.
Both McWalter and Bartunsky said they are starting to see an increase in the support given to startups by larger companies. This is hugely positive, but entrepreneurship needs much more encouragement by all industry role players.
Bartunsky said South Africa does not have a strong enough support system to guide startup businesses and assist them with access to the necessary information on tax, business practice and legislation that will enable their business to succeed in a competitive market.
“Indeed, there is a need for greater support from other SMEs (small and medium enterprises), large companies and government, if we are to support our young entrepreneurs effectively.”
McWalter also said their experience has shown that mentorship is vital to grow small businesses and to help entrepreneurs overcome challenges.
To this end, The Hope Factory will this year mentor a total of 194 black entrepreneurs, made possible through enterprise development funding from a number of South African companies.
The Hope Factory also launched a Johannesburg entrepreneur support programme and runs skills development programmes and entrepreneur support programmes in Port Elizabeth.
The development of young entrepreneurs has been identified as crucial in growing the economy in the National Development Plan.
