Benoni micro-entrepreneurs employ others
The Benoni Paradigm Shift Entrepreneur graduation ceremony, held on Tuesday, July 1, and supported by Sinomsebenzi, revealed that some of the micro-entrepreneurs in the group are employing others, beating the unemployment odds in South Africa.
This was according to John Carhart, director of Sinomsebenzi, an organisation and course host dedicated to attacking poverty through education and the support of community projects which help to alleviate poverty-related challenges.
The Paradigm Shift course is designed to take micro-entrepreneurs and upskill them through a combination of basic business skills and practical business principles imparted by mentors, who have years of experience in business.
Carhart said the course started in Benoni in 2012 and is organised through Northfield Methodist Church and St Andrews Presbyterian Church, with the mentors who support the entrepreneurs coming from these congregations and other churches in Benoni.
Allan Holmes, co-ordinator of the course, said: “We started to run the Paradigm Shift course because we wanted to be part of the solution of addressing poverty in our local communities, by teaching micro-entrepreneurs how to grow and develop their businesses and, thereby, to help themselves,
“The results have been amazing, with an average 62 per cent increase in business revenue, a 34 per cent increase in micro-entrepreneurs saving for the first time and a 67 per cent increase in better record keeping.”
The graduation ceremony celebrated entrepreneurs who completed module four of the Paradigm Shift Course.
This module covered elements such as selling, creating invoices, keeping customers, business communications, partnerships, hiring and working with employees.
“The results of the entrepreneurs and mentors dedication are astounding,” said Carhart.
He named a few benefits of the course:
- Entrepreneurs saving for their future increased from 20 per cent to 80 per cent.
- Seventy-one per cent of them saw an improvement in their business revenue.
- Before the course, 57 per cent were earning below R1 000 per month and, after the course, 57 per cent are earning more than R3 000 per month.
“Most encouraging, 57 per cent of the entrepreneurs are now employing another person in their business,” he added.
“The fact that the entrepreneurs we are training through the Paradigm Shift Course are employing others is the first taste of the success of our strategy to alleviate poverty through education.
“With the official unemployment rate of 25.2 per cent, South African employment requires action from every angle; one of these strategies is to train up entrepreneurs and help them to build their businesses to the point where they are able to employ others.”
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