BUSINESS
Entrepreneur Feature
Skills and eed N Entrepreneurs
n i a t s u S o t l Capita s e s s e n i s u B their A
ccording to Liz Zambonini, the chief executive of The Hope Factory, an established Enterprise Development Initiative of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, most businesses do not fail because the owner did not work hard – they fail because the owner did not have the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed. It’s for this reason that a holistic and inclusive outlook is vital for the country to stimulate the growth of new businesses. Zambonini says the most common challenges entrepreneurs face include lack of skills, limited access to markets, no seed capital, lack of work experience, and insufficient self-confidence. If any of these areas are not addressed the entrepreneur’s chance of success is reduced dramatically. Director for the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Centre for Small Business Development (CSBD) Dr Thami Mazwai noted with “great concern” that only 1.4% of the South African population can sustain a business past four years. Mazwai also shares some of Zambonini’s sentiments saying the key to improving the country’s low level of entrepreneurship lies in providing fledgling entrepreneurs with mentorship, grants, loans, skills training, access to market and variety of solutions including preferential procurement and investment.
President Jacob Zuma speaks at the UJ’s CSBD Conference
(Photo Courtesy of GCIS)
It’s estimated that home-based enterprises provide R6 billion to the country’s annual Gross Domestic Profit (GDP), which is why supporting fledgling entrepreneurs must be the focus for all stakeholders going forward, says Mazwai. In addition, entrepreneurship is important for economic growth, productivity,
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