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Business incubators, accelerators invited to virtual bootcamps

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 14 May 2020
Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola.
Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola.

Business growth specialist Fetola has introduced virtual bootcamps aimed at empowering business accelerators and incubators with vital tech and entrepreneurial skills,in preparation for the crucial coronavirus (COVID-19) aftermath economic re-building process.

The bootcamps, dubbed AcceliMax, will help position business incubators to find new growth paths in unprecedented times,offering a six-module intensive masterclass consisting of interactive online sessions, offline content, videos and access to business mentors.

It is designed for incubation professionals, business development practitioners, and organisations involved in business development services, incubation management and economic development, particularly those wishing to discover solutions that address the rapidly-changing African and global economic outlook, according to Fetola.

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic rattles economies across the globe, it has devastated businesses across sectors. Financial analysts have predicted it could cut the global gross domestic product growth rate of 2.9% in half, resulting in a recession for some countries.

Billed by Fetola as SA’s first online accelerator for incubation, the AcceliMax Bootcamps will help participants learn how to respond to the crucial economic rebuilding process that will follow the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bootcamp modules cover several aspects of business incubation, including: how to get started in the industry; how to build a financially-sustainable incubator; digitising for accelerated success, intelligence and customer relations; managing data, databases and integration; maximising ‘incubatee’ performance, Africa-specific solutions and approaches; and other key learnings and insights.

The two-day AcceliMax Bootcamps will roll out over a three-week period, commencing on 29 June.

“AcceliMax is something we have been developing for some time, but the COVID-19 pandemic has galvanised us into launching this initiative with great urgency,” says Fetola CEO Catherine Wijnberg.

“In the future, business incubators, accelerators and all business leaders will need to learn new skills and build new pathways for the SMEs they support. AcceliMax equips participants with practical, tested content that will accelerate them from good to great, improving their results, agility and ability to pivot and reposition themselves in the post-COVID-19 world.”

Fetola has been involved in business development since 2007, primarily focused on designing and implementing long-term enterprise and supplier development programmes for a range of local and international clients.

According to Wijnberg, technology is a theme threaded throughout the courses, and participants are encouraged to embrace digital transformation as a way to improve knowledge-sharing, engage in close client relationships and improve internal efficiencies.

Training is delivered using the latest online tools to enable an interactive experience − this includes trainer-participant and peer-to-peer visibility. The Remo platform is used for webinars, and materials and content are managed on the Microsoft learning community which is Fetola’s designated learning management system.

The biggest challenges facing incubators and business accelerators in SA at the moment is maintaining long-term growth beyond the immediate COVID-19 crisis, and those who plan today will be leaders tomorrow, addsWijnberg.

“Going forward, the South African Reserve Bank expects the 2020 GDP to contract by 6.1% and other estimates are even higher, indicating a long and hard recession.

“To survive, accelerators and incubators will need to be more effective with less, and provide evidence for the impact they create. Efficiency, flexibility, partnerships and long-term client relationships are likely to become the currency of tomorrow,” concludesWijnberg.

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