EDITORS NOTE

2o20 kicked off on a sombre note with the passing on of a business tycoon whose empire rose from the townships.

The death of the legendary Dr Richard Maponya has brought to sharp focus the high-level of entrepreneurship that used to exist in townships and villages in the past and that has in recent years disappeared and many of those businesses are today closed down.

The ones that remain are mainly liquor outlets. In the villages there were men and women who ran successful businesses that catered for whole villages.

There was no electricity in many areas those days and that meant very few families had fridges, meaning the village shops had to provide for day-today needs.

As we grew up, many shops began emerging in the townships and villages – general dealers, stocking on groceries, clothes and hardware. These establishments were run by locals who persevered under hostile laws during apartheid.

Today, community shops, are drivers of our township economy which in turn immensely contributes towards the country’s GDP.

There is clearly a need to learn from the legacy of the likes of Dr Maponya to inculcate the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among the locals, especially the youth who are affected the hardest by unemployment.

The late Dr Maponya will forever be an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs who believe that the world is an odyssey of opportunities and everyday presents an opportunity to march towards goals. The only key is believing and doing something about it.