In support of the Department of Small Business Development, Vodacom hosted the first leg of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Midrand.
This leg of the conference was marked by the launch of a pitch-off competition that created a platform for start-up entrepreneurs to share business cases with a view to attracting investment.
Entrepreneurs from countries around the world gathered with various objectives. One of them was to find ways to support and help start-up companies to find new ventures. South Africa hosted the event for the first time.
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In her welcoming address, Takalani Netshitenzhe, chief officer for corporate affairs at Vodacom Group reaffirmed the group’s commitment to the empowerment of small businesses and people marginalised from participating in the mainstream economy.
Netshitenzhe added that her company supported the empowerment of small businesses through a number of initiatives, programmes and undertakings such as its supply chain management system that has been aligned to the empowerment policies of government.
“We are committed to doing what we can to stimulate skills development and job creation within the ICT sector. Through the ICT skills training, we are now able to fulfill this commitment and also play an active role in the creation of job opportunities for young people,” said Netshitenzhe.
One hundred and fifty-three students across the country have been trained and after the training they will be able to support the network of schools connected via the Vodacom Mobile Education programme as well as engage in reselling of Vodacom products and the developing of mobile applications or mobile apps.
Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu who was the guest speaker, was pleased by the empowerment initiatives and emphasised the need to empower communities and to introduce basic intellectual property modules in the curriculum of the youth academies so that the intellectual property emanating from the innovation of the young men and women is preserved.
Do congresses and conferences really empower the youth on the ground when they cannot even afford to attend these events? What more can be done to reach those who are truly in need? Send a tweet @MidrandReporter
