South Africa needs a mass campaign of the size and impact of the 2010 World Cup that will bring together key stakeholders to promote entrepreneurship says Yvonne Themba of incubation support organisation Shanduka Black Umbrellas.
“The big thing is to really raise the profile of entrepreneurship. We don’t profile and celebrate entrepreneurs enough,” says Themba.
Themba says South Africa needs more small businesses if it is to create more jobs and added that the initiative can play an important role in doing so.
SA simply doesn’t have enough entrepreneurs
She says the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Gem) report released earlier this year revealed that just 14% of South Africans intend to pursue a business opportunity in the next three years, well below the average for efficiency-driven countries of 27%.
The country, she says, lacks a suitable platform to promote entrepreneurship effectively.
Better business ideas are being pitched
Despite the challenges Themba believes things are beginning to improve, and points out that there has been a marked improvement in the quality of business ideas by those that approach her organisation.
“People have a clearer idea of their market proposition and you have people who are more driven and determined,” she says.