Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Township Economic Commission SA “TECSA” (NPC) in collaboration with the School of Entrepreneurship (SOE), The township entrepreneurship bursary scheme programme launched on April 2, 2024, at SUD Restaurant in Vilikazi Street, Orlando West Soweto. The aim of the landmark initiative is to empower township entrepreneurs across the nation.
Townships are historically disadvantaged areas that have the potential to address unemployment, reduce inequality, and stimulate economic growth through township entrepreneurship.
A study conducted by the journal of contemporary management titled “The Future Growth Potential of Township SMME’s: An African Perspective made recommendations that township entrepreneurs face a number of major challenges, including a high rate of unemployment, along with a lack of finance, training, infrastructure, and skills. The township entrepreneurship bursary scheme programme seeks to address these challenges.
The Township Entrepreneurship Bursary Scheme Programme is unique because it can be accessed online, is scalable, and covers all aspects of business growth, including start-up, scaling, and sustainability. The programme ensures participants’ long-term success by providing them with hands-on training, help in generating business ideas, and continuous support in the form of a Lifetime Community Support Group.
This programme is designed to cater to all levels of entrepreneurship, ranging from survival entrepreneurs to aspiring mega entrepreneurs. Survival entrepreneurs are those who start businesses out of necessity for basic survival. The programme covers three critical phases in any business, namely starting your business, scaling your business, and sustaining your business. Implementing every phase correctly is the foundation for long-term impact and success.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, the programme takes you through a business idea phase, provides business ideas, and offers business opportunities to interested students. Once the process is completed, all students will be informed about the opportunities.
For continued growth, students will form part of the Lifetime Community Support Group, with access to monthly mentoring, accountability, and referral network marketing sessions. Students will be provided with websites and hosting at no additional cost, and they will have access to specialist coaches in their respective fields. Practical training will also be provided.
Bursary application criteria:
Applicants must aspire to start their own business or be an existing entrepreneur.
Applicants must have a device and access to data or WiFi to watch the recorded sessions or attend the live sessions when applicable.
Applicants must commit to attending all the sessions or watching all the recordings at their own pace.
The School of Entrepreneurship is subsidising programme fees by 90%. Each successful applicant has to pay a commitment fee or administration fee of R1995. We believe if participants contribute to the programme as well, the success rate and completion rate will be higher, as people do not always value “for free.”
However, we are continuously searching for sponsorships and funding from corporations, and if we do manage to find sponsors who are willing to fund students on the programme, we will honour their contribution, and successful applicants will receive full bursaries.
The program is designed to accommodate both full-time and part-time participants. The full-time programmeme spans three phases over the course of approximately nine months, while the part-time programmeme extends over a period of approximately 15–18 months. Both programmemes culminate in a lifetime programme aimed at sustaining businesses over the long term through continued support and networking opportunities.
Full-time Programme
Daily sessions of 1 hour per day
- How to Start a Business: 3 Months
- How to Scale a Business: 6 Months
- These 60-minute coaching sessions are delivered daily and are a combination of live sessions and pre-recorded sessions.
- How to Sustain a Business: A Lifetime Programme (10 Years)
Lifetime Community Support Group with monthly mentoring, accountability, and referral
network marketing sessions.
Part-time Programme
Weekly sessions of 1 hour
- How to Start a Business: 6–9 Months
- How to Scale a Business: 9 Months
- These 60-minute coaching sessions are delivered weekly and are a combination of live sessions and pre-recorded sessions.
- How to Sustain a Business: A Lifetime Programme (10 Years)
Lifetime Community Support Group with monthly mentoring, accountability, and referral
network marketing sessions.
Mr. Bheki Twala, President of the Township Economic Commission SA (“TECSA”), emphasised the programme’s foundational approach: “This is about laying a solid foundation, equipping township-based enterprises with the necessary knowledge and skills to seize business opportunities spurred by Economic Development Initiatives in our communities.”
Mr. Leon Lategan, CEO and Founder of the School of Entrepreneurship, reinforces the strategic significance of the collaboration with TECSA as crucial for the economic upliftment of the township economy.
To apply for your bursary click the link below
https://schoolofentrepreneurship.co/tecsa
For more information, contact
Salomi Mostert: salomi@schoolofentrepreneurship.co
Bheki Twala: workingforwolrdevents@gmail.com
