Free training for entrepreneurs

Cape Town – The Seed Academy is offering entrepreneurial training in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and has more than R2.4m of sponsored training available for early stage tech and women entrepreneurs.

Applications are open with courses starting regularly.

The academy provides fast-track and practical training and mentoring to start-ups and early-phase entrepreneurs. The focus is on the tech space, but other ideas which are scalable are also considered.

Seed Academy is also strongly committed to the development of women entrepreneurs.

“We provide practical training by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, targeting their specific needs to help them realise their idea and grow their business,” said Lara Rosmarin, CEO of Seed Academy.

“We want our participants to succeed, so our relationship continues up to 18 months after the course ends.  We create course content around an entrepreneur’s specific needs.

“The material is neither theoretical nor academic and the training is carried out by entrepreneurs who have built their own businesses. They know what works.”

Practical sessions

The practical sessions are presented once a week over 10 weeks between and 18:00 and 21:00, as not to interfere with an entrepreneur’s working day.   

“Throughout the programme we aim to nurture, develop and train the skill sets mind sets, attitudes and behaviours of potential high growth entrepreneurs and provide them with access to their next growth checkpoints,” said Rosmarin. “These include personal and leadership development, sound business skills, a business plan and pitching skills.”

Jermain Kallideen, CEO of Kallideen Technologies, attended Seed Academy and it helped him pitch his start-up to Microsoft BizSpark, which he got into.

Nonqaba Stamper of FundBabies, who also completed the training, said she met other entrepreneurs facing many of the same challenges. “We were also guided by other entrepreneurs. The course highlighted many aspects that new entrepreneurs don’t know about.”

The think, be, do programme:

- Think: The mindset required to succeed, coupled with the knowledge necessary to make it happen.
- Be: The entrepreneurs’ belief in themselves and their ideas; how to keep going and how to make an impression.
- Do: The practical steps that need to be taken to carry a business through to success. How to solve problems, take risks, communicate, understand technology and get things done.

South Africa’s first start-up survey

Seed Academy has developed South Africa’s first start-up survey to get a national picture of start-up entrepreneurs, what challenges they face, what issues relate to funding, what sort of additional support is needed to increase success rates.

Complete the survey now.

“We hope to get up to 1 000 responses and we will share our findings,” said Jeff Miller, chairperson of Seed Academy. “This national survey will develop impetus for industry and government to align efforts to create a more sustainable and successful start-up culture in South Africa. It’s essential that we succeed to create an economically successful country and to reduce our high unemployment rate.”

Read more about the survey here.

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