[JUNE 2015] South Africa has in recent years experienced a growing entrepreneurial culture with many business incubators and seed funding organisations being established to aid entrepreneurs entering the market. The newly established Department of Small Business Development has also been identified as Government’s catalyst to create between 8 and 11 million employment opportunities. Whilst the growing support for new entrants to the market is encouraging, the fear of competition might be daunting for those trying to grow their existing ventures. SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation aims to promote a culture of entrepreneurship with SA teens and empower those already economically active by inspiring them through the journeys that individuals and business leaders have taken to success. The Awaken the Giant in You breakfast series is designed to do exactly that, by creating a platform for information to be transferred from those that have walked the journey to young people, their parents and community leaders who still desire to see economic and social transformation in South Africa through entrepreneurship. “The next breakfast in the series is taking place on Saturday 25 July 2015 at 08h30 at the Southern Sun Hotel, Newlands Cape Town,” said Lydia Zingoni, Founder & Director of SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation. “The speaker for the morning is internationally renowned, author and motivational speaker- Douglas Kruger who has a powerful message to share about distinguishing yourself from the rest of the pack and differentiating yourself from your competitors,” she continued. Douglas is a master of ‘owning your industry’ and becoming an expert at what you do. His talk will inspire and encourage anyone interested in positioning themselves to stand out in a growing economy. “Many people have tried the good, the bad and the unbelievable to stand out,” Zingoni mentioned. “Douglas has learnt to skilfully set yourself apart,” she concluded. The event is …
GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADER, GARETH PENNY TO SHARE BUSINESS INSIGHTS WITH SA’s TEENS
[February 2015] South Africa and the African continent as a whole is home to some of the world’s most valuable natural resources. From gold, to diamonds, chromium, cobalt, and hydroelectric power potential, manganese and millions of acres of untilled farmland Africa is in reality the world’s richest continent. Despite the potential of the continent’s natural resources and the incredibly skilled and talented people calling this continent home, leaders across the continent have failed to stimulate and retain the most powerful resource – the people. It is with this view in mind that the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation continue to promote the course of creating a culture of entrepreneurship amongst teens and leaders that influence the lives of the country’s youth. Since its inception, the Teen Entrepreneur Foundation has created a number of workshops, seminars and competitions in partnership with schools, to nurture and encourage entrepreneurial thinking. “We know that innovative thinking and business acumen can be developed through connection and learning from leaders that have gone before us and paved a way in business,” says Lydia Zingoni Founder and Director of Teen Entrepreneur Foundation. “For this reason, we have created the Awaken the Giant in You breakfast series, which aims to create a platform for leaders and mentors in business to practically share their journeys with South African youth to not only inspire them, but teach them that hard work, commitment and determination will reap a future reward.” She continued. The success of the breakfast series to date is the calibre of speakers that the foundation has managed to attract, to share their skills and expertise. The next speaker in the series is global business icon Gareth Penny. Gareth Penny is non-Executive Chairman of MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s biggest producer of nickel and palladium and a leading producer of platinum and copper. He has worked in various forms of mining over the …
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ATLANTIS COMMENCES APPLICATION FOR DESIGNATION AS SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SEZ)
The South African National Government has identified industrial development as the key to developing a successful and prosperous nation. With this in mind, the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) is following an industrial development strategy that, among other levers, uses Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) to encourage industrial development. SEZ’s are geographically designated areas of a country set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems that are often different from those that apply in the rest of the country. There are 10 planned SEZ’s across the country focussed on sectors such as: Agri-processing, Minerals beneficiation, Logistics, Renewable Energy and Petro-Chemicals, which are based on the sectors requiring critical support as identified by the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP). Atlantis has for a long time been viewed as Cape Town’s forgotten community with high unemployment figures and very little access to opportunity. Atlantis’ history, though riddled with disappointment of migration of companies out of Atlantis when subsidies and incentives were withdrawn, is a history nonetheless of a community that was once an established industrial centre. This means that there is a current unemployed workforce that has previously acquired the basic minimum skills required by industry which operated there before. The community also boasts built environment infrastructure and a working eco-system of stakeholders working together to re-establish industry in the area. The road infrastructure for transportation of goods and the MyCiti bus routes has also raised the prominence of Atlantis as an ideal location to conduct business. The factors above provides the purpose of applying for designation of Atlantis as an SEZ, which is to utilise the multi-layers of support to encourage industrial growth and job creation in the area. Along with National Government’s …
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FINDING OPPORTUNITY IN ADVERSITY – LESSONS FOR BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS
[May 2014, Cape Town] Adversity is something none of us likes to think of, but in a moment one situation can change our entire lives. While insurance companies maximise the reality of this eventuality, most people are still completely blind-sided when adversity hits them. As a result, the obvious by-products of experiencing misfortune can be depression, a complete lack of self-esteem and even financial loss. Whilst all of the above are very evident across South Africa in the unemployed sector of the population today, there is the occasional diamond in the rough that shines out of a seemingly dark and hopeless situation to just encourage and give back that glimmer of hope that gives budding entrepreneurs an example to glean from. It is for this reason that the Teen Entrepreneur Foundation of South Africa has created the Awaken the Giant in you breakfast series. The breakfast series aims to showcase the stories of successful South African’s and allow them to share their experiences and life lessons with learners, their parents and organisations wishing to support the development of entrepreneurs. The next event in the series will take place on Thursday, 22 May 2014 at the Townhouse Hotel, Cape Town at 08h30. Martin Brown CEO of Radical Holdings and professional business speaker will share his journey of overcoming obstacles after being injured in a diving accident. He used creative thinking and his collective experience to change his own life and the lives of others, which kick-started him into a flourishing business. “Every entrepreneur, young or old will face and have to overcome adversity at some stage of their business journey,” says Lydia Zingoni Founder and Director of the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation. “We want to inspire our youth, from a young age that it is possible to overcome and flourish,” she continued. Teen Entrepreneur Foundation which was started in 2010 exists for the sole aim of instilling a culture of entrepreneurship in teenagers …
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“BIG DREAMS START YOUNG – evoking a spirit of entrepreneurship with SA Teens”
[February 2014, Cape Town] Statistics released by the Independent Examinations board late last year revealed a 98.56% matric pass rate for 2013 translating to a figure of 10 166 learners who passed and achieved tertiary study entry pass rates. Whilst many celebrated their achievements, the start of the new school year quickly revealed a problem with capacity at institutions, personal finance and various other factors inhibiting some of these young people from pursuing tertiary study. A ripple effect of this being a rising unemployment crisis as many of these young people have no alternative other than trying to find a job to support themselves and their families or to earn money to pay for their studies. Encouraging young people that big dreams start young is a key message that Lydia Zingoni, Founder and Director of the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation is advocating for in response to this challenge. Teen Entrepreneur Foundation which was started in 2010 exists for the sole aim of instilling a culture of entrepreneurship in teenagers in South Africa. Teenagers represent more than a third of South Africa’s population. There are currently 18,5 million Teens in South Africa out of a total population of 53 Million people. Through SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation Lydia’s dream is to create entrepreneurial programs, competitions and networks that will penetrate to teenagers in all provinces within South Africa. To encourage this train of thought, SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation hosts a breakfast series titled: “Awaken the Giant in You” where guest speakers are invited to share their practical journeys in entrepreneurship and life lessons with learners, their parents and organisations wishing to support the development of entrepreneurs. The event will take place on Friday, 28 February 2014 at the Vineyard Hotel, Newlands at 08h30. Simon Mantell from Mantelli’s biscuits will be the keynote speaker. Come and be inspired by his entrepreneurial journey, from small …