What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur

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Within this paper around what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

www.jasa.org.za ~Free to All Stakeholders~ FEB 2014
2014 : Let’s Make It a Year to Remember
We’re already two months into 2014 and I’m
pleased to report that once again we’ve hit the
ground running! The Junior Achievement South
Africa (JASA) staf and on-the-ground agents have
been operatng at full steam by recruitng new
schools and eager learners, already launching 48
programmes in a number of provinces. With such
a kick-start to the year, we’re excited about 2014
and all that it has to hold.
Of course, none of our work would be possible
without the assistance and collaboratve eforts
of our sponsors, who contnually support and
help us make a diference to the lives of young
South Africans.
Among these sponsors are Investec, MasterCard,
Cit, Spar and Absa, who have funded us for a
number of years now and I would like to thank
each and every company for the contnued
investment in JASA. Your commitment not only
means a lot to us, but also to the thousands of
learners who are able to partcipate in the
educatonal programmes that teach them about
what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
Investment in JASA and the sustainability from
within JASA are core elements which go hand-in-
hand. By contractng Trainiac, a company
specialising in visually mapped learning content,
JASA has invested in updatng its training
material so that it remains excitng, interactve
and learner driven.
The new material is centred on picture-based
actvites that support existng programme
material and improve the understanding of
important business concepts. It includes an
interactve map representng two
entrepreneurial environments: a mini-company
for schools and a producton unit for a real world
environment. The packs include a game board
and actvity cards that are used in a variety of
learn-by-doing actvites, including a card-based
business simulaton.
Afer successfully pilotng the new material at
Hulwazi Secondary School in Daveyton, funded
by Spar South Rand, we plan to roll the new
programme content out to all of JASA’s 2014
Entrepreneurship Academy and Mini Enterprise
Programmes.
In additon to the new material, we’re well
underway with the development of our digital e-
learning programme, funded by JP Morgan,
which is expected to be ready for pilotng mid-
year. We’ll be sure to update you when we have
further developments.
As you can see, we have fantastc new
opportunites and excitng tmes lie ahead for
JASA and our partners.
However, and not to end of on an unhappy note,
it is with a heavy heart that I regret to announce
the resignaton of three Board members. Mohale
Ralebitso, Dominik Heil and Wendy Karlson
resigned at the end of last year for personal
reasons. Their contributons were truly valuable
and we wish them well for the future. Mohale
and Dominik are in need of special thanks for
having served on the Board for nine and 13 years
respectvely.
On behalf of everyone at JASA, we look forward
to working with you again and let’s make 2014 a
year to remember!

Linda McClure
Managing Director—Junior Achievement South Africa
~ Inspiring and Motivating Young Minds ~
Although our work with high
school learners remains a key
focus for JASA, we’re glad to
update that the ofcial roll out of
the ITS TYME programme - which
targets out-of-school individuals
between the ages of 18 and 35 –
has proved to be a huge success.
With generous funding from Absa,
we completed the programme
with 327 young people in Gauteng,
North West, Western Cape and
KwaZulu Natal in 2013.

ITS TYME is an intensive three to
four month programme which
sees partcipants meetng once or
twice a week for three hours. The
incubator style entrepreneurship
programme trains partcipants on
life skills and basic business
educaton, and then mentors them
to use their newfound skills to
launch new ventures that generate
income to improve their living
standards.

We conducted a telephonic survey
in December 2013 with just over
50% of the students who had
successfully completed the
programme. Results showed that:

? 54% of the partcipants
surveyed are running their own
businesses
? 16% are working towards
startng their own entre-preneurial
venture
? 15% are contnuing to study
further
? 15% of respondents aren’t
sure what they would like to do
next learners are doing nothing.

We’re exceptonally proud of this
result, given that South Africa’s
entrepreneurial rate is extremely
low at just over 7% (GEM Report,
South Africa, 2013) and we look
forward to rolling this programme
out further, with the generous
support of our sponsors.
Entrepreneurship is the Prize!
NEWS FLASH
Would you like to take a look into what happens during a JASA
Programme? Follow @JASouthAfrica on Twiter for real tme
updates on our Gauteng programmes.
JASA has partnered with the
African Leadership Academy (ALA)
to promote the annual Anzisha
Prize, Africa’s premier award for
the contnent’s best young
entrepreneurs. Hosted by the ALA
in partnership with The
MasterCard Foundaton, the
Anzisha Prize celebrates initatve
and innovaton by identfying
exceptonal young entrepreneurs
who are blazing a trail of start-up
success for others to follow.
The competton is open to
entrepreneurs between the ages
of 15 and 22, and ofers more than
US$75,000 in cash prizes. Finalists
will be fown to South Africa for a
powerful one week
entrepreneurship programme at
the ALA’s Entrepreneurial
Leadership facility, ahead of the
awards ceremony.
Last year’s winner, 19 year-old
Best Ayiorwoth from Uganda
started a microfnance business
called Girls Power Micro-Lending
Organisaton (GIPOMO) in 2011
afer having to drop out of school
because her mother was unable to
pay her tuiton. Best started her
business with the hope of
preventng other young women
having to do the same because of
difcult fnancial circumstances.
As at the end of January 2014,
GIPOMO had helped 64 women
start their own businesses, 111
women expand their existng
businesses, and kept 168 girls in
school by supportng their
mothers.
Keep up to date by following the
JASA Facebook (Facebook.com/
JuniorAchievementSA) and Twiter
(JASouthAfrica) pages. Interested
young entrepreneurs can enter on
www.anzishaprize.org, or you can
get more informaton via
@AnzishaPrize on Twiter.

ITS TYME to Start Your Own Business
www.jasa.org.za ~Free to All Stakeholders~ FEB 2014
~ Inspiring and Motivating Young Minds ~
Kenyan Team wins JA Company of the Year Competton
One of the many benefts of being part of a global
organisaton is the opportunity to network with
our colleagues who are as passionate about
entrepreneurship as we are.
In the December 2013 newsleter we mentoned
that four learners from JM Ntsime High School in
the North West Province were heading of to
Swaziland for the JA Africa Company of the Year
Competton, to represent South Africa. Their
company, Innovatve Thinkers, produced
personalised necklaces and because of their
metculous record-keeping and excellent proft of
more than R7 700, walked away with the JASA
Company of the Year for 2013 award.
During the event in Swaziland, each company had
to design and manage a trade exhibiton stand for
their company, complete a four-minute company
presentaton explaining their performance and
how they had overcome obstacles, and had to take
part in a panel interview where judges quizzed
them on their reports and overall performance.
“The competton is an excitng opportunity for
Junior Achievement student entrepreneurs to
demonstrate the teamwork, leadership, innovaton
and business skills that will empower them to own
their economic success in the twenty-frst century
global marketplace,” said Sean C. Rush, president
and CEO of JA Worldwide, at the event.
Competton was stf, and ‘Refab Kenya’, a team of
young entrepreneurs from Nairobi’s Starehe Boys’
Centre was named the overall winner at the end of
the competton. This company developed eco-
friendly cushions made with recycled synthetc
hair, and covered mainly with Maasai fabric.
Second place went to ‘EcoBizz’ from Moka,
Mauritus, which produced paper lanterns made
from recycled paper bags, decoratve materials
and LED lights. Third place was won by ‘Apex
Limited’ of Saint Faith’s High School in Rusape,
Zimbabwe, which produced an afordable, locally
manufactured fuel used in reading lamps, in
response to the intermitent power supply in their
community.
Six individual awards were also presented by
regional and local sponsors, highlightng qualites
like entrepreneurial spirit, marketng excellence,
team work, and social entrepreneurship. Although
the South African team did not place in the
awards, they certainly learnt a lot having
partcipated in the competton.
“My favourite part about the competton was
meetng the other teams and learning about their
products, market strategies and overall
performance,” says Nonhlanhla Mbathu, leader of
the Innovatve Thinkers. “I learned that no mater
how confdent you are in a competton, there is a
very thin line between success and failure – and
you’ve got to prepare yourself for both.
“If I were asked to ofer advice to the JASA team
taking part in the 2014 competton, I’d tell them
to be confdent and to follow the competton
manual very carefully – especially when it comes
to compiling presentatons. Believe in your
product, have fun and make new friends – it’s a
wonderful experience!” she says.
There were some common threads running
through the winning entries: all companies had
products that either recycled or re-used materials
that would otherwise have been discarded, or they
created a product in direct response to a
community need. While there will always be a
demand for personalised items, jewellery and
trinkeets, it is clear that innovaton on the African
contnent is growing—something for this year’s
partcipants to keep in mind.
The JA Africa Company of the Year Awards
NEWS FLASH
Would you like to take a look into what happens during a JASA
Programme? Follow @JASouthAfrica on Twiter for real tme
updates on our Gauteng programmes.
Runners up, Team Ecobizz from Mauritius
Sean Rush, CEO of JA Worldwide, congratulates
Apex Limited from Zimbabwe for placing third
JASA’s very own Innovative Thinkers
presenting their company at the competition
Dr Chinwe Efong, President of JA Africa
encouraged participants to do their best and
never give up
The Honourable Paul Dlamini. Deputy Prime
Minster of Swaziland, was welcomed by Mr Desi
Lopez Fafe, Chairman of JA Africa Regional Board
Competition participants line up alongside
each other to take a group photograph
JASA’s Innovative Thinkers construct their stand,
emphasizing that team work is key
Participants and guests were treated to a
traditional song and dance
Overall winners of the 2013 JA Africa Company
of the Year Competition, Team Refab Kenya
www.jasa.org.za ~Free to All Stakeholders~ FEB 2014
Junior Achievement South Africa’s Successful Alumni

Sthembiso Tshabalala took part in the JASA Mini Enterprise Programme in
2004 when he was in Grade 10, and was the general manager of their
company, Teen T’s, which sold personalised printed t-shirts. In 2004 he
started his own business, Texta Print, which led to him being named one of
Absa’s Top Five Entrepreneurs in 2005.
“Just like other entrepreneurs, I experienced the hurdle of a lack of capital
when I started the business,” Sthembiso says. “To overcome this I
convinced my customers to pay me either all or half of the service fee up
front. I rounded up my friends to be my employees, and paid them on a
commission basis. This, for me, was the beginning of my business
journey.”
Texta Print and two other businesses that Sthembiso ran throughout
university helped pay his tuiton, and today he is a B.Com Honours
Graduate who qualifed as a Chartered Accountant of South Africa CA(SA)
at the end of 2013.
“As much as I love telling my story, I think that JASA’s role in my growth is
the more important story to tell,” he says. “My entrepreneurial spirit was
unleashed by Junior Achievement, and I’ve stayed in close contact with the
people I met through JASA.”
In additon, Stembibiso is in the process of growing his own small property
investment portolio and is a member of the Black Management Forum
(BMF).
“JASA’s purpose in South Africa is very important in that it opens up a
whole new world of opportunity, thinking and teachings to South Africa’s
youth,” he adds. “My introducton to JASA has made me passionate about
business and the industry’s role developing the African contnent. As I
share JASA’s vision of contributng to meaningful economic partcipaton, I
call on all JASA stakeholders to join me in making this vision a reality.”

~ Inspiring and Motivating Young Minds ~
NEWS FLASH
Would you like to take a look into what happens during a JASA
Programme? Follow @JASouthAfrica on Twiter for real tme
updates on our Gauteng programmes.
JASA Alumnus Praise Ndebele hit the headlines at the beginning of 2014
afer he achieved the best 2013 matric results in Gauteng, scoring eight
distnctons including 98% for Economics and 100% for Mathematcs,
Accountng and Business Studies. Using his hard-earned results, he’s
decided to study fnancial accountng at the University of Cape Town with
the aim of becoming a Chartered Accountant.
This is indeed a young man who grabs every opportunity that comes his
way and a true ambassador for the JASA brand – in his Grade 10 and 11
years he took part in several JASA programmes, including the JA Titan, the
Social Innovaton Relay, the Entrepreneurship Academy Programme and
the Blackberry Innovaton Camp.
The programmes, funded by Oracle, were hosted at Praise’s school -
Ponelopele Secondary School in Midrand - in 2012 and 2013 and were
facilitated by Lucky Matsangu.
During the Entrepreneurship Academy Programme, as the general
manager of his company, The Young Hustlers, Praise and his team
manufactured name tags and was able to scoop up a satsfying R8 000
proft.
“The JASA programmes taught me how to run a successful business,”
Praise says. “I also learned how to work with people and, as a general
manager, all about responsibility. Moreover my business skills have since
improved and I am optmistc that I will start my own business in the
future, thanks to the foundatons laid by the programme.”

Sthembiso Tshabalala Praise Ndebele

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