A local entrepreneur made his mark on Mandela day today, by taking on a once in a lifetime challenge – to walk from Hatfield in Pretoria to Cape Town in 130 days.
Dr Nico de Klerk will tally an astonishing 2 615km before arriving in Cape Town on 24 November.
De Klerk was seen off on his Streetbiz Foundation’s Long Walk for Entrepreneurship Mindset Campaign by host, Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda).
“This has been a long project in the making, taking a few years to materialise,” said De Klerk.
“However, we need to be honest and realise that South Africa has a tremendous problem with entrepreneurship. I was disappointed to learn that we are the country with the lowest rating of entrepreneurs. This figure stands at a shocking 0.5 percent for people who become entrepreneurs in our country, and I am aiming to change that.”
De Klerk’s journey will include visits to 100 township communities along the way where he will teach underprivileged children about entrepreneurship, and why it’s important to be a job creator rather than a job seeker.
“We need to teach the youth about creativity, expressing creativity and we need to show them, that if you don’t try, you won’t succeed.
“Our young ones need to understand that they are supported, they do have opportunities, they do have resources, and they just need to know they can do it, no matter what hurdles life throws at you.”
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