Forty community centres throughout Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State are set to be equipped with the social virtual incubator of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Economy (CSESE) by the end of the month.
This initiative is the result of a partnership between the University of Johannesburg's (UJ's) CSESE within the faculty of management, and Siyafunda Community Technology Centres (CTC), and will see the latter expand its network nationally, in both urban and rural communities.
According to UJ, the technology centres are set up and the network that will enable virtual incubators is scheduled to be completed by the end of February. This follows an agreement for the roll out of the incubators, signed last month, which saw a number of players come to the table.
These include UJ and faculty staff, director of Siyafunda CTC Ahmed (Smiley) Ismael and a number of Siyafunda's partners, including the Ekurhuleni City Council, the Independent Development Corporation and the Limpopo Development Council.
Ismail says the partnership will enable the collaborators to better serve communities.
Director of the CSESE, Dr Susan Steinman, says taking the social economy organisations' (SEOs') virtual incubator to the heart of disadvantaged communities is “exactly what is needed to take education to people where they are”.
Users will be able to click on a desktop icon to enter the social virtual incubator, where they can register for a trial period and make use of the services offered, such as the facilitation of SEOs, which will be able to engage with coaches for the provision of guidance on strategic issues, personal development and technical knowledge.
UJ says coaches, consisting of business professionals and academics, will be able to engage in one-on-one advisory sessions with social entrepreneurs via an online process, done through chat rooms.
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