Programme seeks to accelerate entrepreneurs
702 and Nedbank are looking for entrepreneurial stories to tell
LOAD shedding, crippling bureaucracy, traffic, crime, the weak rand – all bad news, right?
Maybe not, if you’re an entrepreneur looking for opportunities to fulfil needs in the market.
Working with entrepreneurs every day constantly reminds me of the power of human beings, particularly South Africans, to see the possibilities in even the most dire situations.
Take the energy crisis that plunged us into darkness for hours at a time earlier this year.
Yes, it was bad for businesses, except those entrepreneurs who saw a market for alternative power sources – everything from tradi- tional generators to solar, kinetic, wind and hydro power.
Those visionaries are probably going to make South Africa one of the most progressive adopters of green energies on the planet in the next few years, and all because of a “crisis”.
I refer to this type of entrepreneur as a Bad News Buster.
I’ve identified another six categories of entrepreneurs who make things happen. I am looking for these business builders to apply for this season of 702 Business Accelerators with Nedbank.
The next grouping who should apply I call the Davids Taking on Goliaths.
These are entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid of taking on the big guys – China and its labour power; the US and its tech leadership; Germany and its engineering prowess.
Last season, a soap manufacturer not only took on China but competed and beat a very large corporate as a three-year-old business.
The third group are the Trail Blazers.
These are the guys who’re creating new opportunities, educating new markets, disrupting established value chains and building the on-demand economy in their sector.
Uber, AirBnB and a host of other examples exist abroad. I want to know about South African cases.
Fourth up are the African Argonauts – those entrepreneurs looking beyond our borders.
Maybe they see opportunities in developing markets or how to bring a South African solution to the First World.
Fifth on the list are the Fast Foxes.
These are entrepreneurs who take the best of small business – fast and flexible – and create a new propositions for established customers. We’ve seen some great foxes in the fintech space – we want more.
The sixth group of entrepreneurs are the Standard Setters.
There are sectors where customers have had to get used to getting what they get, and the Standard Setters are turning this on its head by offering new levels of excellence.
Finally, we have the Market Makers.
SMEs are driving growth but some entrepreneurs are deliberately driving the objectives of the National Development Plan at the same time.
Localisation, import replacement, job creation and local innovation are all examples of what Market Makers do.
If you see yourself in any of these categories, I urge you to apply for the 702 Business Accelerator with Nedbank by visiting www. 702.co.za.
The Business Accelerator programme gives entrepreneurs an invaluable opportunity to talk to an audience of affluent, engaged listeners about their businesses.
Participants also benefit from one-on-one sessions at the Aurik Business Incubator, deal-making business networking sessions with the Accelerator community, and training and inspiration through relevant direct communication.
To qualify, you need to be an established, operating business that has an annual turnover of less than R80 million and you must want growth – a feature during drivetime traffic reaches far and the impact will be profound.
Are you ready? Visit www. business.702.co.za to sign up.