The elusive skill of successful entrepreneurship was under the spotlight at an event in Kariega hosted by Volkswagen and Raizcorp.
The occasion was to mark the 15th anniversary of the partnership between Volkswagen (VW) Group Africa and Raizcorp and the ground-breaking entrepreneurship programme launched at the new VW support centre.
Speaking at the event, Volkswagen Group Africa chair and MD Martina Biene said the automotive corporation was happy with its decision to partner with entrepreneur training company Raizcorp.
She said the numbers generated by the Volkswagen (VW) Business Support Centre, established with Raizcorp in Kariega, spoke for themselves.
“We have invested more than R95m to date in empowering local entrepreneurs, and in turn they have generated a turnover of R733m in the Eastern Cape.
“That is what we call a good return on investment.
“The centre has supported 178 entrepreneurs, and 30 of these companies have been brought on board as suppliers to VW Group Africa.
“Our beneficiaries employ almost 2,000 people, and they have created 680 new jobs since participating in the support centre programme.”
Biene said the programme established with Raizcorp was in line with VW’s continuing drive for efficiency, while never forgetting the vital human ingredient.
“Though our vehicles have changed significantly over time, one thing has always remained a constant for the makers of the people’s car, and that is our understanding of how important people are.
“We are celebrating 75 years of building Volkswagens in South Africa this year, and without the people who build, sell, own, and drive our cars, as well as the business owners who support and supply us, this momentous milestone would not have been possible.
“But today we celebrate another milestone ― the 15th anniversary of the VW Business Support Centre, which we established in partnership with Raizcorp in April 2011.”
She said the car giant had embarked on the journey with Raizcorp after recognising the need to support business in Kariega and Nelson Mandela Bay.
She said the support centre was one element of the corporation’s “supplier support strategy”, and it had more broadly contributed to the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund, aimed at financing black-owned companies in the auto sector.
“Our support for this fund has resulted in more than R1.7bn of market access opportunities to these businesses.”
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe lauded the support centre’s work, saying it aligned with the objectives of the national government and the metro.
“The next phase of South Africa’s growth will require even stronger collaboration between government, industry and communities.
“It will require us to deepen localisation, expand supplier development programmes, support industrial innovation and ensure that small businesses are integrated into high-value sectors such as automotive manufacturing.
“The support centre provides a practical model of how these objectives can be achieved.”
Raizcorp founder and CEO Allon Raiz described growing up in Durban, a brief stint living on the streets, and his failed hot dog factory enterprise.
The pivotal turning point for him was when his benefactor convinced him a business that did not work was not a problem — unless the entrepreneur gave up.
He said the re-entry rate, or average number of times failed entrepreneurs tried again in the US, was a healthy 3.6, whereas in South Africa it was just 1.14.
Ironically, part of the reason for this was that in South Africa funding was often sought and obtained too early, masking the lack of a business model and important skills.
Several graduates of the support centre programme spoke, including Phumza Gwaleni, who described how it had transformed her small construction services firm Nhaka Legacy Group, which she established six years ago.
Gwaleni said she learnt the basics of business as an eight-year-old hawking fruit and vegetables door-to-door for her mother in the village where they lived.
Equipped with this know-how, when she grew up, she started Nhaka, but it was limping along.
“It was losing money. I knew how to sell, but I didn’t know how to put the business together and ensure that it was delivering real profits.
“Today after doing the support centre programme with Raizcorp, our profits are at 15%.
“And we have grown from a BBBEE [broad-based black economic empowerment] level one construction company to level five, where we can now tender for projects worth up to R10m.”
The Herald