Whispers of an entrepreneur

South African Flag Daily I am inundated with emails to apply for our Apprenticeship – applications from as remote and as far as the villages of Kwa Zulu, to Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. All these applicants have a few things in common – irrespective of race, they are all mostly young, between 17 and 30 years of age and looking for an opportunity to get a jump-start on life and career building.  The unsuccessful ones as applicants – the ones that touch me the most, are the ones who have no form of tertiary education. No further education and training – just a matric and passion to make it one day and live the proverbial “South African dream”. These young people having been born between 1984 and 1996 have largely lived in a society free of Apartheid, been afforded all the freedoms of democracy and grew up an era of opportunities for all. Yet this is not the case. We are arguably worse off as a country now - with an increased population size, cent...

As the world foremost financially well-off individuals, sit and discuss the fate of the world, risk, growth potential and development. I am can’t help to sit and wonder if I am wrong/immoral to want to one day sit at the tables at Davos. WEF 2014 Twitter #hashtag conversation topics If entrepreneurs are the rock stars of the business world, then some entrepreneurs must be rock gods – names present at Davos that come to mind are Bill Gates , Enrique Razon , Aliko Dangote and many more. I am sure all these gents ever set out to do was to have fun, do what they like and maybe change the world. Now rewinding back to some many decades ago, when these men got started – it all started with a dream. Yes we all dream, we dream big and small dreams, we dream wild and cautious dreams – we all dream. As American author, Kathrine Paterson once observed, “a dream without a plan is just a wish”. It has been my experience that only well defined, crystallised plans are the ones w...

Android Apps Anyone who has spent a minute with me, would know that I am evangelistic on the growth of a mobile development market in Africa. I envision an economic opportunity of a life time, which I have on occasion called the gold rush of my generation. Big words – I know. In Cape Town, mobile developers and boutique mobile development shops have increased over the past 3 years in an alarming rate. The introduction or emergence of foreign behemoths, entering the market to essentially explore and exploit the opportunities has led to a supply side push – which invariably will lead to conditions for an artificial market demand for skills. In a market like ours where skilled persons are few, a demand frenzy will occur and income inflation is likely. Where every IT graduate has now become a mobile App developer and when two or more are together, it is called a “company”, a lot of fly-by-night operators are on the rise. In other words – the increase in the numbe...

I continually tell people that I am not political – contrary to comments and thoughts I share. Politics in their essence do not interest me, but I cannot help being intrigued from a business perspective. My knowledge and understanding, underpinned by years of tutelage and experience in business have made me acutely aware of promises made to clients, customers and/or voters. I find fascinating the whole concept to telling people anything under the sun in order to garner votes, to ‘serve’ the people that have put you there. False promises and advertising is undergone with little to no consequences. If a business/brand made similar assertions without delivery, they would cease to exist or die a very public and costly death. This is not the case in politics. Having grown up in Cradock in the 80s, at a very politically charged time, I have fond memories of meetings and general gatherings – where the subject of the gathering was to spread information and pray that the ANC l...

I am an admirer of Julius Malema… This may come as massive surprise for everyone who knows me – but before you think any differently about me, let me outline why I am saying this. Julius Malema, our favourite verbal diarrheic – whatever you think of the man, he has done something few of us have. He became a political entrepreneur. These beasts are few and far between, with most notable icons of political entrepreneurs being George Washington of the USA and Mahatma Gandhi of India, just to name a few. These are men who had a dream, a vision and had the ‘balls’ to take the proverbial bull by the horn. Remembering, Business Management 101 – he saw the window of opportunity and entered the market before the window closed. Timing, playing a crucial role in achieving success and exposure, something AGANG SA could learn something about. (On my next post I will write something about my swipe at AGANG SA). So now, Mr Malema is conducting business, and garnering support from a...

According to Statistics South Africa the official unemployment rate in South Africa is 25.6%, a mammoth quarter of the economically active participants in our country. The rate among youth lies between 45% and 60%, depending on which source you consult. Low skills and lack of opportunities lie at the heart of this cancer affecting our young people. Numerous personalities indicate that entrepreneurship is a possible alleviator of this massive scourge on our youth. True as that may be, we need to take a long hard look at the reality before pushing for reforms with minimal chances for success. One of the most crucial resources an entrepreneur needs to have is a working knowledge and experience in the area in which he/she wants to start and grow a venture. Our youth currently does not have the required experience to go out and start businesses, they mostly lack the networks required to be secure deals and if they do, there is often lack of capacity to deliver on the contract. ...

It is the impetus of every entrepreneur since the beginning of time, to change the world, shaping and bettering it – all in pursuit of a particular dream or ideal. During the time of my forefathers, the desire for far off places, goods and news was one of the greatest conquests. After all,  Mfengu  people were among the first tribes to trade with the Europeans. The world must have been vast then – with new things at every turn. As Thomas Friedman once put it, ‘ the earth is flat’  now. Having a unique idea, the required capital to make it a reality and outpacing everyone in the market to make it a reality is so precarious – most of us have a better chance of being hit by lightning. It is important to remember, for every Mark  Zuckerberg , or alike entrepreneurial superstar, there are thousands of entrepreneurs who apparently did not make it to the level. These entrepreneurs are still and most importantly, pushing for an ideal, shaping a future and show...