Business incubator Seed Academy is inviting entrepreneurs who have been in business for less than five years to participate in its second annual national start-up survey.
According to Seed Academy, the online survey aims to gain insight into the key challenges faced by entrepreneurs operating within different industries. It will also provide information on the success rate of local compared to foreign entrepreneurs participating in SA's ecosystem.
Donna Rachelson, CEO of Seed Academy, says the survey is expected to attract over 3 000 respondents, and will provide a national snapshot of start-up entrepreneurs and what they need to achieve success. "This year, we want to build on the benchmarks established last year by determining the success rates of entrepreneurs in different environments such as urban, township and rural areas.
"We will also establish the sectors in which entrepreneurs operate, as well as the markets in which they are building their businesses - business-to-business, business-to-consumer or business-to-government," explains Rachelson.
Seed Academy is a training incubation and funding ecosystem for entrepreneurs which focuses on growing and scaling high-growth potential businesses.
Rachelson says programmes have been designed with sustainability in mind as entrepreneurs are equipped, personally and professionally, to recognise what it takes to build, run and scale a business.
She believes there is not enough support for entrepreneurs in SA: "The National Development Plan places a huge expectation on small business given that the plan expects small and expanding companies to deliver 90% of jobs by 2030.
"The results of the survey will provide valuable data for government to enhance the start-up ecosystem in SA by outlining exactly what the status quo is and where the most urgent interventions are required," she explains.
She says the responses will also be used to lobby development financial institutions to ensure entrepreneurs get the support they need and to work with corporates in shaping their corporate social responsibility programmes for start-ups.
Participants stand a chance to win one of three business support packages valued at R30 000 each, one of two seats on an accelerator programme valued at R15 000 each, and one of five places on an entrepreneur boot camp valued at R5 000 each.
The survey will only take about five minutes to complete and is available here.
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