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Cape Town - Entrepreneurs often secure funding by applying to various organisations that they discover and contact via the internet, but township entrepreneurs do not have the privilege of internet access.
The launch of the Bandwidth Barn in Khayelitsha in March was the answer for such entrepreneurs.
The Barn offers office space, telephone and internet access, as well as meeting rooms for entrepreneurs.
"Becoming IT enabled is vital to the success of business growth for entrepreneurs,” said the Barn CEO Ian Merrington.
Many of the entrepreneurs’ only piece of tech is often a feature cellphone. "The Barn Khayelitsha is making available tech and connectivity to empower and aid these entrepreneurs to trade in a relevant medium and manner,” said Merrington.
GALLERY: See the Barn in pictures
Programme for crafters and artists in Khayelitsha
Deidre Luzmore, founder and CEO of Mzansi Store, has collaborated with The Barn and says it is an exciting opportunity for her business.
Mzanzi Store is an online market, showcasing local crafters and artists, and allowing for online shopping and delivery of these otherwise small-market-bound products. It was recognised as the top 40 most innovative companies in South Africa in August 2014.
"As a single woman founder, building a tech-enabled B2C eCommerce business, I have certainly taken on a huge challenge," said Luzmore.
"Collaborating with CiTi (Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative) and The Barn Khayelitsha is an exciting opportunity. But what really excites me is how closely CiTi is listening to the needs of entrepreneurs in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain."
This programme is not a replication of what is being offered at other incubators, as it directly answers an urgent need of entrepreneurs in this area.
"With the assistance and strategic focus I got from attending the VeloCiTi Enterprise Development programme at The Barn, MzansiStore.com grew its database of creative suppliers from one to close on 100 by the end of 2013, of which 40% are SME B-BBEE businesses," said Luzmore.
Fin24 spoke to Ian Merrington about The Barn coming to Khayelistha
What does the Bandwidth Barn do exactly?
The Bandwidth Barn, formerly known as the Barn, is part of CiTi, which was founded as a non-profit organisation in 1998 by a broad group of industry stakeholders and inspired citizens, with the vision of developing Cape Town and the region as a global technology cluster and a vibrant hub for innovation that is a significant contributor to economic growth.
Almost 20 years later, the CiTi continues to aspire and work towards this vision, primarily by being the ‘oil’ that connects the many diverse and interested role players regionally and internationally, and the ‘engine’ that develops and implements innovative models to address key industry challenges and blockages.
CiTi is the flagship organisation for the technology sector in the region and has become a blueprint for industry and public sector collaboration models for sector development.
CiTi’s skills initiative, CapaCiTi, has been recognised as a valuable contributor to the development of necessary skills and professionals to the technology sector.
CiTi’s established enterprise development programmes has attracted some of the sectors' leading blue-chip companies as partners.
The Barn has been recognised as Africa's leading and most established incubator and accelerator, incubating hundreds of start-ups generating thousands of new jobs. Numerous entrepreneurs and start-ups with their roots in Cape Town have become global success stories.
What's the aim of bringing it to Khayelitsha?
One of our key strategic objectives is to drive inclusive innovation. Our programmes at The Barn therefore focus on people and also small business who do not have easy access to financial assistance or social capital.
Khayelitsha is alive with creative spirit, which most often only needs a little encouragement and some equipment to unlock innovation.
Its location is at the heart of one of Cape Town’s most diverse development corridors: Khayelitsha/Mitchells Plain - the community-based Barn Khayelitsha provides a unique opportunity to be part of a vibrant living lab ecosystem where users from the local communities take part in a creative social space and processes of transforming ideas into innovative technology products and services that will impact and improve their daily lives.
The most common goals of community-based incubation programmes are creating jobs in a community, enhancing a community’s entrepreneurial climate, retaining businesses in a community, building or accelerating growth in a local industry, diversifying local economies and increasing employment in economically distressed communities.
Because of its diversity, the area is an ideal source of not only the qualifying companies to participate in innovative initiatives, but also to serve as a living lab environment in the development of relevant, highly innovative products and services within the market that will eventually consume those products and services.
How can start-ups benefit from The Barn?
We offer a collaborative working environment and ecosystem of like-minded entrepreneurs along with proven entrepreneurial support programmes (VeloCiTi).
How does The Barn Khayelitsha slot in with government?
It is collaboration between us and the Western Cape government, which is also seeking to drive job creation and unlock inclusive, community-based innovation. The City of Cape Town has generously provided part of the Lookout Hill Centre for our use. We have refurbished it and kitted it out with the financial support from the Western Cape government.
What is the application process? Can just anyone who has a business idea get involved in the programme?
Any entrepreneur or small business can approach The Barn for support, no matter at what stage of development they are. Although we run structured programmes throughout the year, our approach to business development is very open and based on individual interaction with entrepreneurs and business owners.
We focus on designing tailor-made interventions and solutions for each of our client companies based on their unique needs and requirements. Once you enter our network, we become part of your business journey and we'll continue supporting your business development and growth. Application forms are available on our website and anyone is welcome to contact us either by completing a form or directly contacting us.
Do you have any examples of high profile (successful) entrepreneurs that came from The Barn?
We have had a number of very successful businesses and entrepreneurs passing through over the years. This includes the likes of Vinny Lingham, founder and CEO of Gyft, a mobile gift card company based in the USA and backed by Google Ventures; and Joshin Raghubar, founder and CEO of iKineo, a leading pan-African customer engagement firm leading the way in marketing and communications strategy for a host of global companies.
More recently we have been instrumental in the success of startups like GoMetro, Funda, ShiftOne, Tompsa (The Open Medicine Project whose Mobile Triage app just won the Global Big Impact award - Locally Developed Medical App wins Global Big Impact Award.
Final note?
We believe that it is very important to support entrepreneurs who do not have easy access to social capital and financial assistance. The Western Cape has a vibrant culture of creativity and innovation.
I believe that our labs and programmes at The Barn will unlock economic growth through innovation which creates local solutions for local problems (Tompsa’s Mobile Triage app is a great example).
Espinacha Innovations is another small business that benefits from the resources of The Barn Khayelitsha. It is a spinach bread express bakery based in Khayelitsha Township.
"The innovation was inspired by the problem of my community; the problem is unhealthy eating, which then leads to unhealthy activities", says Lufefe Nomjaja founder of Espinacha Innovations."
To learn more about Espinacha Innovations watch this video or visit their Facebook page.
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