Entrepreneurs' knowledge gap filled by innovative programme

As far as buzzwords go, being an entrepreneur or “your own boss” are just some which have become incredibly popular in recent times. For many South Africans, running a business now is a necessary alternative in a country where the unemployment rate is sitting at 33.9%. For many, entrepreneurship is a means to survive, with very little thought put into skills that help a business get bigger and thrive. 

Through its Collective Shapers initiative, Metropolitan aims to equip young entrepreneurs with specialised knowledge and technical skills in various sectors, thus addressing the gap which often prevents a lot of businesses from reaching that next level. 

“By equipping entrepreneurs with the relevant tools, the programme aims to create more income-generating opportunities through business development,” says Phumla Mavundla, head of marketing: product and channel at Metropolitan. More than just providing a financial injection for the successful participants, Collective Shapers involves a five-month programme designed to put the participants through their paces, arming them with the knowledge required to build sustainable businesses.

One of the skills the programme builds is the art of pitching where, at various stages, participants are required to present their business to a panel of judges, demonstrating what they have learnt and communicating what is required for them to scale their enterprise. This portion of the programme is designed to sharpen their ability to describe critical business operations to attract investment.

“Many of us are familiar with shows like Dragon’s Den where we have seen many brilliant ideas fail to materialise because of poor presentation skills,” Mavundla says. “When trialling the initiative in Limpopo in 2021, we identified pitching as an area of improvement for many of the shapers and incorporated it into the programme.”

Before Collective Shapers went into Tshwane in 2022 for its second instalment, field research Metropolitan conducted revealed financial management as one of the areas of improvement for many young business owners.

The five-month programme addresses this through the “Feasibility Studies of Business Plans” module, where participants are equipped with skills to interrogate the financial viability of their business, thus ensuring sustainable future growth. 

“The general understanding of finances in many of the businesses we have interacted with through Collective Shapers has been encouraging to see. Through this programme, we want to help young entrepreneurs build on that skill to a point where they can even pass it on to their employees, something which is key for any successful venture,” says Mavundla. 

For the Tshwane instalment, participants will be taught about the practical and business sides of the hospitality and food industry. A hybrid skills programme will touch on soft and technical skills, delivering a structured and scalable programme supported by a robust mentorship programme. The industry-focused business programme for start-ups and existing businesses will also look at the following: 

• Evaluation and improvement of business plans; 
• Advice for acquiring start-up funds;
• Evaluating entrepreneurial aptitude and skills; 
• Entrepreneurial training; and  
• Marketing a business.

Young people between the ages of 18 and 34, who are already active in the food and hospitality sector and living in Tshwane, can apply to be part of the programme. In addition, they must a permanent resident in SA and have a registered business that’s been in operation for no less than two years. The business must be 51% or more black-owned.

For more information visit www.metropolitan.co.za/collectiveshapers.

This article was paid for by Metropolitan.