September 26-27, 2019
The Symposium gathered more than 150 budding entrepreneurs on the Pretoria campus of UNISA (University of South Africa). It was packed with empowerment for small businesses.
Small businesses are the engine of economic growth at the community level, and so the channel not only for prosperity but for social development. The Symposium applies the tools of management savvy, seed investment and mentoring to boost success.
The two-days gathering was a sort of crash-course in carrying a good business idea into successful practice: inspirational stories from proven entrepreneurs; applying the Asset-Based Community-led Development approach to spot opportunities; practical guidance in the essentials of legal requirements, networking, finances and accounting. Bonus: cash awards were offered as incentives for successes in business development.
The presenters and facilitators were a cast of dynamic leaders: Rotary Presidents and District Governors, professors and authors, managers in banking, human-resources, and real estate, specialists in law and in management technology… plus ‘real-life’ entrepreneurs who have ‘made it’. These are people who know business and mean business.
The Symposium, and what happens after, works because of partnership — the cooperative contributions, with The Townships Project, of Rotary, the University of South Africa, SAGE Accounting, MacRobert Attorneys and others.
