enTRepReneuR FeaTuRe

ENTREPRENEUR

Feature pitch and polish unleashesentrepreneurial potential in Townships.

Globally renowned business incubator, Raizcorp, in partnership with Sasol ChemCity, is unleashing entrepreneurship potential and supporting emerging enterprises in remote and underprivileged areas, writes Donald Makhafola.

Three years ago, Raizcorp launched Pitch & Polish a workshop and competition to help entrepreneurs in small towns become more successful. Pitch & Polish is free and designed to give township entrepreneurs the opportunities to have their ideas brainstormed, tested and challenged. The competition exposes aspiring entrepreneurs to entrepreneurial training and thinking and at the same time helping them turn their business or ideas into a success.

Sasol ChemCity is Sasol’s enterprise development vehicle that facilitates the competition, using the opportunity to share essential entrepreneurial skills, as well as identifying viable entrepreneurial opportunities.

Herman Berry, Senior Business Manager at Sasol ChemCity says, since 2005, Sasol ChemCity has supported more than 700 SMEs within the chemical, energy and related industry, contributing more than 10 000 jobs into the market.

“Nurturing entrepreneurs is therefore something that we are really passionate about. We are excited by this opportunity to partner with Raizcorp to transfer crucial skills to our local community entrepreneurs. In so doing, we are helping ensure the sustainability of these businesses in the market,” says Berry. One of the objectives of the workshop is to teach entrepreneurs to prepare a successful pitch for potential investors in order to obtain funding for their businesses.

Allon Raiz, Chief Executive Offi cer of Raizcorp, says there are large numbers of highly innovative and energetic aspiring entrepreneurs that simply don’t have an opportunity or platform to expose their business ideas. He says this is the main objective for Pitch & Polish to go to smaller towns and cities and provide the stage and training for the individuals who have been overlooked. “There is a big disconnect between entrepreneurs’ understanding of what is a good business idea and how banks and investors perceive a good business idea. Pitch & Polish is part of the solution to bridge the two so that more entrepreneurs receive funding and support.”

He said research has shown that 82% of the best entrepreneurs in the world are the main salespeople in their organisations. “Unfortunately the large majority of entrepreneurs in South Africa don’t know how to pitch their ideas.”

Raiz said this is where programmes like Pitch & Polish add a great value in terms of training entrepreneurs to understand their businesses and to be able to sell their ideas to funders.

“This is an interactive learning experience with instant feedback on how to better present their business ideas. These real world skills are invaluable to any entrepreneurs trying to start and grow a successful business,” Raiz adds.

This year, Sasol and Raizcorp applauded and awarded innovator and entrepreneur, Innocent Sibeko, as the Regional Pitch & Polish winner. Sibeko was described by the judges as a clear innovator who was able to deliver a clearly defi ned and structured pitch which demonstrated the depth of knowledge and insight he has in his business and the industry. Sibeko’s company, Green Spectrum, helps solve the problems of unnecessary waste fi lling landfi lls by extracting the recyclable materials and selling them to processors. Green Spectrum creates employment, and has the capacity to grow and assist the country with waste management and renewable energy.

“Winning the Regional Pitch & Polish competition has laid a platform for us to attract potential investors and it gives us exposure to the broader market. Over and above that, we are changing the face of poverty by creating sustainable jobs and redressing issues of entrepreneurship and inequality.” said Sibeko.

In 2001, prior to the Climate Change Conference (COP17) in Durban, Sibeko took an interest in the waste management business to collect waste from the bins in townships. “It was then that I started to examine how waste management and recycling could improve people’s lives by creating economic opportunities.

“I took a workshop named Greening Your Business. This laid a foundation and in 2012 I initiated the stakeholder engagement with PETCO, The Glass Recycling Company, Sasol ChemCity, Department of Environmental Aff airs, Nampak, Emfuleni Local Municipality and ABI for their buy-in. In late 2012 I formed an organization with a group of two ladies and three gentlemen.”

He says Green Spectrum Investment was formally registered earlier this year with the objective to pursue growth in the waste management and other related sectors . Sibeko says he’s currently studying towards NQF Level 7 in Business and Management Competencies with the United Nations University.

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