Job creation is paramount in these tough economic times. What South Africa needs is more entrepreneurs, who can create their own living and hopefully employ others. It’s all well and good to say the country needs entrepreneurs, but where do they come from? How do they learn to be successful?
A year ago, Anglo American started theEntrepreneur Internship Programme(EIP), an initiative to help people gain business experience, establish and develop their own business, and create new jobs in the process.
First graduates well equipped to succeed
Five entrepreneurs graduated from the first programme, equipped with a market ready business plan that will provide them with the foundation to run a successful business with strong growth opportunities.
The five entrepreneurial interns are all trading in their newly established businesses. The graduates are:
- Thembelani Ngulube who owns Amon Pumps
- Mkhokheli Mlilo of Sakhizwe Engineering
- Sejako Morejwane from SPM Engineering
- Dr Renier Dreyer who owns Crunchyard
- Lynne Scullard from Scully Scooters.
Further, the EIP has also helped create sustainable jobs, with a total of 35 additional people having been employed by the new businesses already.
A year-long internship
The EIP, hosted by Anglo American’s Supply Chain, is a focused 12-month internship that intends to accelerate the ability of high potential entrepreneurs to create job opportunities and achieve rapid growth in employment size and revenues.
The EIP achieves this goal by combining experiential learning with industry exposure, mentoring and networking.
Essentially, the programme provides a stepping stone for entrepreneurs who are interested in developing or growing a business, but do not have access to the requisite skills, industry knowledge, business networks and support.
The entrepreneurs in the programme are exposed to Anglo American’s business with a view to them then starting a new local company or expanding an existing one, and supplying goods or services back to Anglo American.