Tag Archives: Entrepreneurship

Unleashing Africa’s potential: A vision for innovation and entrepreneurship

SA Innovation Summit CEO Buntu Majaja looks back at this year’s successes and quantifies next year’s opportunities.

Education needs to ignite entrepreneurship

By PROFESSOR AHMED SHAIKH, MD REGENT BUSINESS SCHOOL GLOBALLY the perennial battle to alleviate poverty is an enduring one and in this respect South Africa is no exception. According to Statistics SA almost half of the adult population in our country is living below the upper-bound poverty line. While the battle against poverty has been […]

How to start a business with almost no money

By Catherine Wijnberg One of the questions I am most frequently asked is: “How can I get funding to start my business?” Today’s Google search will give you 340 million answers to this question. But if it’s just one good answer you need, this one might help. The reality is that most new businesses start […]

45 entrepreneurs from Africa attended the sixth edition of the SIBC

From November 23 to 29, 2022, 45 entrepreneurs from 18 African countries met in Marseille for the 6th edition of the Social & Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC) – an acceleration programme for African social and inclusive businesses. After three months of online training and mentoring, the winning entrepreneurs took part in an intensive week-long bootcamp with training […]

What no one tells you about entrepreneurship

How one small business beat the odds and secured a coveted contract with Shoprite Checkers By Terrena Rathanlall, Fetola SME Media Portfolio Manager You could be forgiven for thinking that the Instagram story about the businessman with the flashy car and mansion in the background is a realistic depiction of entrepreneurship. It could not be […]

10 Top Lessons From Leading Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur is no easy feat, but with a clear plan, passion and hard work – a lot is possible. As we enter Entrepreneurship Month, we speak to entrepreneurs from different fields and industries about their success and ask them their key tips on achieving greatness! From Ignite Fitness’ CEO, Schalk Hugo and internationally […]

Make a success of sustainability: An innovative incubator aimed at equipping entrepreneurs to build the green economy

According to a recent study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), transitioning to a more circular economy can create value across all sectors of the economy. The circular economy promotes sustainability, and the sector consists of businesses that focus on eliminating waste, leading to improved efficiency and greater profit margins. Sixty-five entrepreneurs will […]

Why the sector is fertile ground for South African entrepreneurs

By Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola South Africa needs entrepreneurs to reverse our shrinking economy and high unemployment rate. And while they face numerous barriers in almost every sector, there is one industry that offers them the key to success: The circular economy. Only about 1% of micro-enterprises[1] in South Africa, starting with one to five […]

Getting SA’s Social Entrepreneurs Investment Ready

The impact investing market now stands at around US$715 billion globally and this figure is climbing steadily[i].What’s more, 43% of impact investors have funds allocated to Africa, with 52% of investors planning to increase their African investment over the next five years[ii]. With South Africa being the largest market for impact investing within Southern Africa[iii], […]

Failing To Win

A new book from Burnet Media, Cape Town will inspire and guide the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Failing To Win by Mike Quinn is the authentic story of a uniquely African startup at the forefront of the continent’s fintech revolution. Inspired to become the “M-Pesa of southern Africa” after Kenya’s pioneering mobile money innovation, […]

SA’s Social Entrepreneurs Need Support to Succeed

South Africa’s 141,500 social entrepreneurs are both solving the country’s most pressing problems and contributing to the economy in the process, with the creation of nearly 600,000 jobs and an estimated 76,000 more by 2030[i]. Sadly, however, approximately 70% say they struggle to raise funding due to a lack of networks[ii] and40% don’t even know […]

Entrepreneurs need to better understand risk and fail better by failing fast and forward

Are entrepreneurs risk takers at heart or calculated visionaries?  According to serial entrepreneur and Ukheshe Technologies CEO, Clayton Hayward, many entrepreneurs don’t truly understand the nature of risk, which has a direct impact on the success of their business idea. He says that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be willing to take […]

Crasner Ventures backs ‘worker-first’ social network Umwuga for its second investment

London, UK, May 2021: Crasner Ventures, the early-stage venture capital investor that supports businesses led by female founders and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, announces its investment in Umwuga Ltd, an emerging markets-focused social network that connects workers and employers. Umwuga is Crasner Ventures’ second portfolio company. Umwuga is revolutionising the recruitment industry in emerging markets, by enabling workers […]

The Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) launches the inaugural Legatum Foundry Fellowship for entrepreneurs in Africa

Fellowship applications open on May 3, 2021 for entrepreneurs working and living in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. The Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at MIT has launched the Foundry Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind leadership program for accomplished entrepreneurs who are considering their role in shaping the future of the African innovation ecosystems in […]

Post-Covid recovery depends on a positive SME mindset

#StandardBankSMESummit  With more than 90% of South African SME’s having experienced revenue drops since April 2020 and with many businesses being left vulnerable, the need to support and boost South Africa’s SME sector which currently provides formal jobs for 28% of the population must be prioritised.  This support is not just financial, but psychological as […]

Digital Nomad Boom sees E-Residency Launch New Digital ID Card Collection Points Worldwide

Aspiring e-Residents can now collect their digital identity cards from offices in Brazil, South Africa, Singapore and Thailand 05 May 2021: The Estonian government’s e-Residency programme, pioneer of the world’s first digital residency initiative, has today announced the launch of four new international ‘pick-up points’ across three continents to accommodate for the increase in digital nomads as […]

Afrikrea Launches ANKA to Power Global African E-Commerce

Ivorian company partners with DHL and Visa and builds SaaS Platform for omnichannel global selling for African micro retailers Afrikrea, the e-commerce platform for “all things made of Africa”, is launching ANKA – an all-in one SaaS solution to provide a seamless ecommerce, payments and global shipping online service for thousands of micro retailers and […]

WorldRemit founder Ismail Ahmed launches Sahamiye Foundation to tackle Somaliland’s development challenges and unlock entrepreneurial potential

Ismail Ahmed will seek to commit $500 million of his own wealth and investments over the next 10 years to Somaliland-focused development programmes. Sahamiye Foundation will aim to double Somaliland’s literacy rate to 90% by 2023. A team led by WorldRemit founder Ismail Ahmed has today launched Sahamiye Foundation, a philanthropic organisation focused on using […]

Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa Webinar Series 

The Africa Centre in collaboration with Learning Connected presents a webinar series on sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa from 12-15 April 2021. The series of live, interactive webinars explore Africa-focused sustainable development challenges, practical solutions, case studies as well as emerging trends and opportunities through interactive presentations and discussions.  By connecting entrepreneurs, students, educators, makers, researchers […]

Announcing Winners of the 8th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit Awards

Over 1,200 delegates virtually convened for the 3-Day summit on ‘A Resilient Africa – Forging Solutions for the Impact Economy’ Sankalp Forum, an initiative of Intellecap hosted its 8th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit, in a virtual format, from the 2nd to 4th March 2021, one of Africa’s largest inclusive networking platform focusing on […]

N’Gunu Tiny on Why social entrepreneurship supports local communities throughout Africa

Transformative tech and social innovation expert N’Gunu Tiny talks about how social entrepreneurship helps communities in Africa. N’Gunu Tiny, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Emerald Group, is an expert in transformative tech and social innovation. His book Impacting Lives will be published in Fall 2021. Before the pandemic, Africa was surging ahead with local and national […]

Dubai-based prominent African entrepreneur and philanthropist, Mahmood Ahmadu, conferred the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ Award

Mahmood Ahmadu, founder and executive chairman of Online Integrated Solutions

The founder and executive chairman of Online Integrated Solutions is one of three leading African business luminaries to receive the prestigious recognition In a virtual ceremony held on September 11th 2020, Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu – founder of Africa’s leading multi-business IT conglomerate – was one of three celebrated business leaders to be presented the Forbes […]