Capacitating entrepreneurs for a sustainable township economy : the Khulisanani/Godisanang and GrowYourBiz Initiatives
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Date
2020-01
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Gordon Institute of Business Science
Abstract
The need for South Africa to develop its entrepreneurial capacity in order to create employment and a more dynamic, inclusive economy is well established in public and private sectors. However, success stories are hard to come by – especially when they focus on township entrepreneurs, a group that might be neglected by broader initiatives for being ‘too difficult’ or ‘not high impact enough’. The hope is that this report will ignite more rigorous debate about how to develop entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, even in environments that are resource-constrained and apparently opportunity-poor. This report details findings from research focused on a series of training and coaching and mentoring-based interventions in township economies across seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. These interventions and this research were conducted by the GIBS’s EDA through funds provided by the Walmart Foundation. The data was collected in a mixed methods design, involving qualitative and quantitative methods, before, during and after the intervention that was conducted during 2018 and 2019. The findings reveal that township entrepreneurs had developed their personal and business skills during the programme, resulting in improvements in their business operations and market position. For some, this was believed to have resulted in immediate and measurable growth in their businesses, while others believed that their new-found skills enabled them to build a strong foundation for future growth.
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Keywords
Entrepreneurship, Minority business enterprises, Informal sector (Economics), Job creation