3M co-sponsors entrepreneurship programme

Martin Sweet, Managing Director of Primestars Marketing

Whilst the majority of entrepreneurship programmes target post-matric youths, this initiative aims to inspire a culture of entrepreneurship and wealth creation early on in the career development process.

According to Martin Sweet, MD of Primestars Marketing and the brainchild behind Step Up 2 A Start: "If we are to succeed in fostering entrepreneurship in South Africa, we must present it as a viable option at school level alongside other career choices. Waiting until learners finish matric may be too late."

The Step Up 2 A Start programme provides practical tools that can easily be applied by budding entrepreneurs. In consultation with Regenesys Business School and USB-ED (the commercial arm of the University of Stellenbosch Business School), educational content has been adapted from Lean Start Up by Eric Ries. This methodology has been adopted globally and is transforming the way new products and businesses are developed and launched.

Dragon's Den speaker

Keynote speaker James Caan of the UK's hit entrepreneur television programme Dragon's Den, spoke of how young entrepreneurs are the future of South Africa and, in order for the country to grow, the culture of entrepreneurship needs to be imbedded from the start. Step Up 2 A Start has attracted sponsorships from the likes of 3M, NYDA (National Youth Development Agency), ABSA, MTN Foundation, Sasol and PUTCO, among others.

3M, which will host the award ceremony at the end of the programme at its offices in Joburg, has also sponsored a trip to 3M's head office in St Paul, Minnesota. On the trip, the winning team will experience 3M's Global Customer Innovation Centre and discover how 3M adapts and transforms innovations, by utilising one or more of its 46 technology platforms, from an idea into commercially-successful products - the heart of the Step Up 2 A Start programme.

"We are thrilled to support this exciting programme, which is closely aligned to our 3M culture and ethos of innovation. At 3M, we believe that innovation makes progress possible and that in order for creative out-of-the-box thinking to take place, we need to actively encourage young learners to expand their minds," said Robyn O'Leary, 3M's marketing excellence and strategic planning manager. "The vital importance of entrepreneurs to create and bring to life new technologies, products and services, which ultimately aid in the creation of jobs, is imperative for an emerging economy like South Africa. Creating a culture of intellectual curiosity is the key in addressing this need."

Practical tools

The Step Up 2 A Start programme provides practical tools that can easily be applied by budding entrepreneurs. Their journey begins at one of 14 Ster Kinekor cinemas nationally, where an educational feature film produced exclusively for this programme will be shown.

Participants will then be given an Entrepreneurs Toolkit, a step-by-step guide on how to get started as an entrepreneur, from concept to market, following from the principles discussed in the film. This valuable resource, developed and published by Sharp Sharp Media, will also serve as the basis for the next step in the learning process, the Step Up 2 A Start National Youth Entrepreneurship Competition, which will give participants the opportunity to explore their aptitude as entrepreneurs by providing them with a platform to showcase their ideas, business models, prototypes and services. Entries will be sought from across the country and finalists stand a chance of winning a place in the Step Up 2 A Start Entrepreneurs Boot Camp, to be hosted by ORT JET (a division of ORT SA) in Joburg in late November or early December 2014.

The boot camp will culminate in an awards evening, hosted by 3M. The best young entrepreneurs will be awarded prizes, donated by USB-ED, Afrika Tikkun, Seed Engine, Jabu Stone and Raizcorp, Regenesys as well as 3M. In doing so, the programme will identify and foster South Africa's top young entrepreneurial talent and give them a step up to showcase their entrepreneurial ability.