Johannesburg, 17 Oct 2014
Entrepreneurship is all about opportunities; being at the right place at the right time, partnering with the right people, and getting the required business support and guidance when needed.
With many corporate companies understanding the need to develop and support small businesses, it opens up many new opportunities for these smaller businesses to not only grow, but to also stand the chance of forming part of the corporate companies' supply chains.
Entrepreneurship is unfortunately still seen as a daunting path, and, according to the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report^1, only 14% of Africans intend to start a business in the next three years. The reality is that education about entrepreneurship across sectors should be seen as a lifelong process - one that should start at an early stage with the youth - where they are encouraged to develop their thinking and accelerate their potential into becoming an entrepreneur in any sector in South Africa ? as entrepreneurship can open up a door to opportunity.
One such sector in fact, that is recognised for its innovation and offers ample opportunity ? yet suffers from a skills shortage ? is that of the information and communication technologies space (ICT).
It was stated last year the 2012 IBM Tech Trends Report^2 showed that on average about half of South African organisations reported a moderate to major skills gap across the top four emerging technologies, which, at that time included mobile, cloud, social business and business analytics - all technologies that are still relevant and in some cases gaining more attention today. The same report also showed that only one in 10 companies indicated that they have all the necessary skills across the above mentioned technologies - testament to the large skills shortage here.
It is with this in mind, coupled with the fact that the ICT sector is an important one from an economic growth point, that Raizcorp is focused strongly on, and supports, entrepreneurship and small business development in the ICT space. Raizcorp, a business built solely on entrepreneurship principles, wants to see the ICT sector drive the economy forward, and so to this end has developed a business growth programme that is being sponsored by one of the leading mobile operators locally.
The aim of this programme is to support the successful growth of ICT focused businesses, particularly black-owned women businesses. These businesses could very well be the ones that change the face of the ICT industry in the future and close the skills gap - and so developing their business abilities and promoting their business growth is essential.
Through one of its business growth programmes, Raizcorp, along with the partnered mobile operator, will aid technology-based small black-owned businesses which meet the specified requirements to take part in the programme in successfully growing their ICT supply chain over a 12-month period.
Participants will learn the key necessities about running a business, including the likes of marketing, accounting and data processing to name a few. Participants are selected on their passion for technology and drive to succeed and through the programme will further develop their business skills related to what it takes to drive an ICT-based business to success. Through the completion of the programme, the attendees would have learnt valuable lessons about entrepreneurial thinking and taking advantage of the ample opportunities that exist in ICT.
Through this partnership, Raizcorp will not only promote skills development within the ICT sector, but also grow the spirit of entrepreneurship among those who are passionate about the technology space - of which women play a very important role.
The technology sector locally is one that contributes to the broader economic development and upliftment of South Africa, and placing a focus on developing entrepreneurial minds for technology will go a long way in assisting in not only closing the skills gap but developing young, successful business owners that can create an even more profound effect on the country's economy over time.
Anyone interested in taking part in this programme can apply via the online site. All the necessary details and the criteria for an application here can be found at the following link: http://fs20.formsite.com/raizcorp/MobileOperatorEOI/index.html
Watch this space.
References:
1. http://mg.co.za/article/2013-11-29-00-south-africas-poor-performance-in-entrepreneurship-events
2. http://www.iweek.co.za/special-report/new-tech-widens-skills-gap
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