The only requirement for the programme is that candidates be ambitious and tenacious. The programme aims to help grow their business idea by offering successful entrepreneurs access to business skills training, to funding and business coaching through its incubator.
“The incubator model stems from Awethu’s firm belief that black South African youth are as entrepreneurial as the youth of any country, if not more so but the constraints of a largely informal economy make it near impossible for survivalist entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves,” says Yusuf Randera-Rees, co-founder and CEO of the Awethu Project.
He believes the concept has the capability to make a real dent in South Africa’s unemployment rate of 26.4% (Q1 2016, according to Statistics SA) rising to 42% among under-30s.
The proven success of the incubator lies in its emphasis on practical training, within the first six weeks of the five-month training programme, the aspiring entrepreneurs are required to be running a business. To get them to that point, the modules covered in the programme have a practical business focus on market research, marketing, financial management and cash management, together with all the tools commonly expected of an incubator. These include operational and back-office support, networking opportunities and a team of experts and professionals to mentor them.
At the start of the programme, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to receive kick-start funding of up to R5 000, while the top 10% of graduates become eligible to receive seed capital equity investment of R250 000 to grow their business.
To demonstrate their commitment to the process, applicants are required to pay a R100 application fee. They will also be required to contribute R500 for each of the two three-month blocks in the Micro-Business Incubator Scholarship.
“This is a commitment fee to ensure that if you are selected for the #Awe250K Micro- Business Incubator Scholarship, that you treat this opportunity with the necessary respect. This fee covers the basic administration costs around supplying five months of training worth R45,000. The total value of scholarships is R23 million, run in conjunction with the government.”
Practical training is the hallmark, job creation through entrepreneurship is the objective and a key factor in the success of the programme is its robust selection process. Despite this, creating jobs via an incubator is a costly process, so Awethu intends to focus primarily on business ideas that have the potential to become sustainable operations capable of employing 20-30 people.
The primary purpose of the course is on incubating the entrepreneur rather than the business, with the entrepreneur himself upskilled to be able to grow his/her own business sustainably; formalise it, position and build it into a valuable asset.
For more information, go to www.awethuproject.co.za/entrepreneurs/track-1.
