Book seeks to galvanise black people into entrepreneurial action
Inspiration reading finance magazines while in prison
The Journey of the Soweto Entrepreneur Since 1905 offers a compelling narrative that celebrates the evolution of black entrepreneurship in Soweto, from its establishment as a township in 1905 up to the post-apartheid period in terms of specific periods, forms of activity and general economic activities of black entrepreneurs.
The book is written against the backdrop of apartheid’s oppressive legacy to show the remarkable resilience and ingenuity of early pioneers, who defied the odds, navigated systemic barriers and discrimination to build thriving businesses and vibrant communities.
The book is a testament to the indomitable spirit of entrepreneurship that thrives in the vibrant streets of Soweto.
The idea for this book was birthed in the cells of Victor Verster Prison in 1982, while Dr Thami Mazwai was serving a prison term with Thabo Ndabeni, Sipho Somacele, Carter Seleke, Solomzi Selane, Mbulelo Hongo, Litha Jolobe and Bulelani Ngcuka.
As Mazwai recalls: “On this day in 1982 at Victor Verster, we had been made to clean the storeroom in our section where we found old copies of the Financial Mail. I filched some of these and read them in my cell.
They introduced me to a world of reality. The Struggle to me had simplistically meant political power. As I read the magazine, I realised that the real struggle is going to be an economic one, that of black [people] in general, struggling to meet basic day-to-day challenges of living, as Maslow stated years ago.”
The book is primarily inspirational, aimed at galvanising black people into traditional entrepreneurial action to emulate what their pioneers did to conquer the apparent misery in black communities.
It appeals to the local middle class, the youth in the townships, countryside and rural villages, entrepreneurs and all black people in general aspiring to become entrepreneurs, against entitlement and dependency, which have been an alarming aspect of black lives in the townships of SA.
It encourages them not to depend solely on government handouts for the eradication of poverty, unemployment and inequality which have been bedeviling the black communities, but to take active steps to free themselves from hunger and deprivation.
Recent realities in the country are painful and confirm this state of affairs. According to Stats SA (2021), close to 10million South Africans from a population of 60-million do not have jobs and the bulk of them are black people.
This is not the democracy that Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe and Steve Biko preached, to mention a few of our luminaries, not forgetting the Lillian Ngoyis and Sophie de Bruyns.
Despite the ongoing necessity and implementation of BEE since 2003, poverty, unemployment and inequality in black communities have become rampant. Because of this, it was critical that a book of this nature be published, to encourage all black South Africans towards enmarginalised trepreneurship as there is no shortcut to a better life for all.
The book is structured in two parts. The first part is covered in four chapters, to present a historical overview of Soweto and the legislation and events that unfolded after the migration of black people to urban areas, after the discovery of minerals and promulgation of the notorious Land Act.
It shows how Soweto’s entrepreneurs faced formidable challenges as they sought to establish businesses in a society that systematically black enterprise.
The first period is from 1905 to 1948 to show how the emergence of the first entrepreneurs and their economic activity from the days of the department of native affairs in the then City Council of Johannesburg, the migration of black people from rural to urban areas and the application of the Urban Areas Act, which limited the economic activities of blacks in the so-called urban areas.
The second period is from 1948 to 1977, the period in which the non-European affairs department in the municipality, referred to as Nead, was in control of townships. The most notable official of the time for Johannesburg, sort of the minister of native affairs, was WJP Carr, then director of the Nead.
The third period is from 1977–1992, which was marked by the era of the West Rand Administration Board and the rigid application of apartheid.
However, when the Urban Foundation intervened in the aftermath of the June 16 riots, there was a more liberal approach in dealing with black people in Soweto, which saw the emergence of more entrepreneurs and business sectors, which brought an exciting period in township entrepreneurship.
The fourth and last period is from 1992–2020, mostly covering the post-1994 period with the removal of apartheid and the emergence of the great contradiction, which created challenges for black entrepreneurs who had to compete in the open market with white business while in the past Soweto was a closed economy which gave black people the advantage of protected markets.
The remaining chapters provide sector analysis. They discuss the evolution of the retail industry; the liquor industry over the period starting with the restrictions on black people selling liquor, whether traditional or bottled; the nature of the financial sector and activities in Soweto over the years represented by burial societies, stokvels and the emergence of African Bank and other banks in Soweto; the taxi industry from the first vehicles and how it changed over the years; the role of soccer and boxing in the Soweto economy, especially the euphoria that marked the emergence of Kaizer Chiefs as a formal business and the transformation of Soweto’s big teams into companies; the role of arts, culture, beauty and entertainment in Soweto over the years; and lastly, the contributions of women in the evolution of entrepreneurship in Soweto.
It is hoped that our youth will be inspired by the legacy of those who have come before us and motivated to continue building a brighter, more prosperous tomorrow for all residents of Soweto in support of the analogy that the lion recreates the hunting prowess in its young.
This is a book extract from