Giving entrepreneurs a head start

So a programme aimed at teaching financial and customer proficiencies to between 600 and 800 entrepreneurs and SMMEs between now and December this year provides a valuable springboard towards economic growth and greater employment opportunities down the line.

Front Simphiwe Buthelezi (Siyayenzalenlo Tourism), Nonhlanhla Poswa (Fitness Class), Tsholofelo Ntuli (Fitness Class) and Mlungisi Shabalala (Siyayenzalenlo Tourism).

Back Ray-ann Sedres (head: transformation at Santam), Karl Bishop (head: niche business at Santam) and Martine Solomon (Phama Media Marketing and Solutions).

Insurance company, Santam has partnered with The Box Shop, a recently established retail outlet and business incubator situated within the Vilikazi Street precinct in the heart of Soweto, where it has setup a learning hub.

A consumer education training partner, Phama Media Marketing and Solutions, also an SMME, has come on board to deliver the training, which started at the beginning of May. The focus is on interactive teaching covering concepts such as: the basics of financial planning, business budgeting and insurance dos and don’ts, and the risks faced by entrepreneurs.

“Equipping entrepreneurs with the right skills and appropriate training could prove the difference between a failed enterprise or that of a sustained and successful start-up with the potential to expand and grow.”

“With South Africa’s jobless rate at an eight-year high, imparting greater support to the establishment and development of small businesses and the active promotion of a broader entrepreneurial culture is just one of the ways in which the economy can be stimulated and additional jobs created,” says Ray-ann Sedres, head of Transformation at Santam.