EnterPrize, the job creation project introduced by the National Business Initiative (NBI), Telkom and McKinsey & Company, is attracting significant response, say organisers.
According to Judy Wade, principal of McKinsey, a global management consultancy, over 849 calls have been received.
The initiative is a plan of action, in the form of a competition, aimed at attracting business ideas from prospective entrepreneurs. The three-phased business planning competition was first introduced in Johannesburg on 14 March and is a means of addressing the problem of unemployment and promoting sustainable job growth.
"The initial response has been very promising, with more than 200 people having indicated their intention to participate and approximately 25 Phase One entries already having been received," says Wade.
Telkom is the primary sponsor of the competition and has committed R6 million over the next three years. The brainchild of McKinsey, EnterPrize also has backing from sponsors located in a variety of industries such as banking, media and manufacturing.
EnterPrize will be actively run in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg through coaching, lecturing and networking.
Organisers say the concept has had a successful track record in countries like Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, US and India. They note that the initiative has led to the launch of viable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the creation of a significant amount of jobs.
"The 300 entries for the Munich initiative started up at least 30 successful new companies, many of which managed to raise finance using skills acquired in the competition. In Berlin, almost 2 000 new jobs were created," says Wade.
It is believed that similar results can be achieved in SA. Wade says that based on the current local socio-economic situation, McKinsey has identified SA as an ideal market for this concept.
"SA is experiencing large and growing unemployment. Yet research on local SMEs shows that there is neither a shortage of great business ideas, nor a shortage of capital to fund those ideas. There is, however, a critical need for skilled people to turn those ideas into fundable business plans. Through EnterPrize, we hope to close the gap."
Dr Theuns Eloff, CE of NBI, is equally confident of the initiative`s success.
"The EnterPrize project provides business with a practical mechanism for stimulating entrepreneurial activity that will create the sustainable jobs so desperately needed in SA," he says. "I also believe it is an appropriate vehicle for the NBI in our quest to focus on socio-economic development on behalf of our 170 member companies."
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