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- Small Business In South Africa
- Starting A Business In South Africa
- Business In A Box South Africa
- South Africa Business Market
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) set out to implement the Bizniz in a Box programme in 2016 as part of the company’s Youth Empowerment Programme. It involves the selection of talented young people who are then given training in marketing, sales, stock management and finance as well as access to funding to start their container business – literally a business in a box.
“Aspiring entrepreneurs in South Africa face a number of challenges including a lack of funding and skills, fierce competition from bigger companies and regulatory challenges. These common hurdles have resulted in high failure rates for small businesses,” says Tsholofelo Mqhayi, head of Enterprise and Community Development at CCBSA. “Through the Bizniz in a Box process, we’re helping young people set up and manage thriving businesses in their communities.”
What sets the programme apart is its incremental process of helping young entrepreneurs operate their own businesses through on-the-job training. The benefit of this approach is that they are assessed on their actual performance in a live environment, rather than in a classroom set-up only. It also gives candidates a true taste of what it’s like to operate a micro business independently.
Participants attend an Entrepreneurial Bootcamp where they are given the basic business skills they need to manage their Bizniz in a Box. Prospective entrepreneurs complete a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 2 accredited programme and demonstrate that they grasp and understand basic financial principles.
Small Business In South Africa
They are then allocated a fully stocked container shop and operate the store for a period of two months. During this time they need to use their own initiative to promote the store within the community using direct marketing, promotions and other tools. Once the two-month immersion process is complete, the entrepreneurs who meet predetermined performance criteria graduate and proceed to the next phase, going operational.
At this stage, entrepreneurs begin the exciting task of managing their allocated store. This allows them to gain valuable micro-enterprise-related experience under the guidance and support of CCBSA, business development support consultants and mentors. They must then start making monthly repayments towards the start-up capital outlay of the store and inventory. Once the total repayment process has been completed and the entrepreneur meets the predetermined performance criteria, the store is officially handed over to them.
“Bizniz in a Box works on the basis that the youth repay a portion of the capital cost of the store,” says Akona Sishuba, Enterprise Development project manager. “The money that is repaid is invested in future rollouts of the project, enabling more youth to be supported in their quest to become entrepreneurs.”
Exposure to the programme offers an opportunity to young people to own a micro-business. They are also encouraged to start thinking about other opportunities outside their shop, such as opening up a franchised business.
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa has also committed to exploring and developing a micro-franchise programme supporting township retail development leveraging Bizniz in a Box, as well as the Owner Driver programme which develops logistics entrepreneurs. These will be used to collaborate with the Tshepo 1 Million township economy programme, a partnership to co-ordinate efforts between government and the private sector to help create opportunities for 1 million youth in the province.
“Given the current economic landscape, prospects for growth and development are limited,” says Sishuba. “Through the Bizniz in a Box programme, youth candidates will be given an opportunity for self-employment, helping to secure their own livelihoods and support their families.”
Doing Business in South Africa
If central Africa is poised to take off from an economic perspective then South Africa should be seen as the continent’s engine. South Africa takes on super-power qualities when looked at from an African perspective. South Africa is far and away the largest economy in Africa and the economic health of so many of its neighbours are intrinsically linked with the robustness of South Africa’s commercial sector.
The transition from the previous apartheid-led policies to a fully functioning democracy, offering equal opportunity for all, was never going to be an easy one. The birth pangs of the new rainbow nation are still being felt and political corruption and in-fighting have not helped the process. Nonetheless, South Africa has made significant progress in most areas and, critically, has not descended towards social chaos and economic meltdown as many predicted. South Africa survives and South Africa grows. Its future will be fascinating to watch and its future could, to a large measure, determine the future of Africa.
If you are considering doing business in Africa (and more and more companies are moving into Africa), then it is probably a good idea to do business in South Africa first as a stepping stone to the rest of the continent.
Starting A Business In South Africa
However, South Africa is complex. It is a complex mix of cultures, races, languages and differing approaches to business. You need to be flexible in South Africa and you need to be observant. You need to know that there is no ‘one size fits all’ process that will work in such a complicated environment. Learn about the country before you go on a business trip to – it makes commercial sense to do so (and its fascinating at the same time.)
This country profile provides an overview of some of the key aspects of South African business culture in a concise, easy to follow-format. The document includes information on:
- Background to business
- Business Structures
- Management style
- Meetings
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Women in business
- Entertaining
- Top tips
Business In A Box South Africa
Author
This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture.
Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working. We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.
South Africa Business Market
This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in South Africa only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.