Meanwhile, youth unemployment remains very high nationally.
Despite support from government and the private sector for entrepreneurs, the rate of uptake is low, said Tope Toogun, founder of training and consulting firms ALS in Nigeria, and Clarity Education in South Africa.
Toogun will be the keynote speaker at the Dr Richard Maponya annual lecture on Tuesday, November 15 at the University of Johannesburg.
“Government officials say most prospective entrepreneurs who approach them are ‘not ready’. They haven’t developed their propositions sufficiently to attract support,” added Toogun.
“There is a low conversion rate from training to small enterprises or to co-operative start-up compared to peer economies. But little is done to better understand and measure the impact of entrepreneurship training in fostering small business start-ups,” he said.
“A new approach is required to get entrepreneurship into the consciousness of South Africans, and to foster an environment that actively promotes entrepreneurship and effectively prepares individuals for entrepreneurial pursuits.
“Then we’ll start to witness an increase in the level of startup activity and a growth in the number of early stage companies that are growing their operations and providing employment opportunities.”
Prof Daneel van Lill, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), which hosts the Centre for Small Business Development (CSBD) said: “South Africa’s alarming unemployment rate of 27 per cent and youth unemployment rate of 54 per cent poses a crisis and an indictment to society.
“Over the last five years entrepreneurship as a mode of employment has dropped by about three per cent among youths and among women by six per cent. This spells double trouble for all of us.
“South Africa has unique needs, and therefore requires a clear game plan, to support small to medium business development in our disenfranchised society.
“This is what we do in though the Centre for Small Business Development on the UJ Soweto Campus, the Department of Business Management and in collaboration with the Dr Richard Maponya Institute.
“The UJ Faculty of Management stays committed to developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem advancing the business drive within the communities we serve,” said van Lill.
Roy Maponya, CEO of the Dr Richard Maponya Institute said: “At the Institute, we understand the need and the pressure our country is facing, from high rates of youth unemployment, stagnating growth rates and a host of other challenges our economy has to deal with.
“Our model for engaging stakeholders across the spectrum is inspired by the Brazilian Industrial System. We aim to reduce youth unemployment through the development of skills and entrepreneurship programmes, and also through initiatives with partners and other stakeholders.
“For example, we have convened three think tanks and two Lectures since 2014 to give young entrepreneurs and startups the opportunity to be exposed to seasoned executives and academics on the creation and management of sustainable businesses, which could ultimately lead to jobs.”
