Keep it moving

AFTER hearing him speak at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs), one of the people I follow on Twitter is Shaka Sisulu. I think he provides some interesting insights into how young South Africans view the country, and the opportunities and shortcomings they see on a daily basis.
 
It gives me a lot of heart to see a young guy who is as enthusiastic about the country as he is.

One of the pictures he posted recently was part of a road trip he was doing. He came across a bar, where a young Coloured entrepreneur had built himself a business which now employed an older white guy as the barman - cultural diversity in action!
 
Earlier in the week, he made a comment about how the country was losing its ability to build world class products - we were happy to throw up a lot of signs of visible progress like buildings and shopping complexes, but not necessarily building products we could export.
 
This triggered off a host of responses, with people pointing out that products like MXit, Amarula, Mrs Ball's Chutney and Pastel Accounting software - to name but a few - were still proudly produced by SA Inc.
 
Fair enough, these are good flagship products but let's be blunt - Amarula first appeared on the shelves in 1989, Mrs B's chutney started commercial production around 1870 and while MXit and Pastel are good products, technology is constantly changing and one has to ask whether realistically those products will still be around 20 years from now.
 
As a country, we need to be thinking constantly about how to bring new products and tech online. It doesn't have to be the next Facebook or Google, but it does have to be something which is uniquely South African.

Bring on the black-owned brands
 
We are also still not seeing enough black-owned brands and technologies coming through and being highlighted. There are lots of grassroots success stories in the media, but still not enough role models to hold up to the 40% unemployed youth in the country.

That would be one of my wishes for small business in South Africa - aspire to be on a list of innovators and "builders" in 12 months' time.
 
I was speaking to Vinny Lingham recently after the deal between Yola and Hewlett Packard was announced, and he pointed out how frustrating it is that South Africans constantly drag down other people's
successes.

Yola signs a deal with one of the world's most successul IT companies, and still a lot of people commenting on the various online articles are critical or negative about Yola and South African achievements in general.
 
Vinny is not the only one to comment on this. Allon Raiz from Raizcorp also pointed out how many South Africans were so cautious of being optimistic - in contrast to, say, their American counterparts.

Americans trumpet success and they treat their entrepreneurs as ambassadors - hell, Donald Trump is now apparently planning to run for president in the next elections!
 
Invariably, there will be people who are going to comment on this column and who will blame the government, the ANC, the banks and everybody else who they believe has done them wrong. I can't do anything about them.
 
I will say this, though: there are two ways to go into 2011.
 
Option A is you cheer entrepreneurs and "builders" the same way you will be cheering Western Province and the Stormers, should they win the Currie Cup and Super 15 in 2011.

Option B: you don't and rather focus your energy on breaking down, instead of building up.
 
But if you choose option B, you can't blame anybody else for the fact that unemployment is at 40% or your friends, family or kids can't find work. If there is one thing we learnt in 2010, it is that corporates like Standard Bank and the like are not going to be making a big dent in the one million jobs lost in the last 18 months.
 
Just like Vinny, Allon, Mrs B, Shaka or the guy running the bar you have choices in life. They chose to add value - what did you choose?
 
With that in mind, I am going to sign off with a quote from Shaka via Twitter: "Quit putting energy into negative things. Let people be negative around you if that's how they're feeling. Keep it moving."
 
Best wishes for an entrepreneurial 2011.

 - Fin24