Day 3 of MIT Start-up Workshop

After yesterday's action-packed day, I was prepared for a relaxing Friday. Jessica Jackley Flannery shattered my hopes immediately and completely. She told another improbable story: how a few friends, making a few loans of a couple of dollars each, helping a few farmers in Uganda, grew within the space of a few years to kiva.org, an international community of 470,000 lenders providing US$ 65,000,000 in loans to 95,000 entrepreneurs. The recovery rate of these loans is an amazing 98% with interest rates about 10% below the norm for most micro-finance programs. Go to www.kiva.org to learn more and become a lender yourself.

What strikes me again and again listening to stories of Jessica and Alicia yesterday (pictured below), is how improbable they sound and how they rely more on character, grit and determination than on anything we can teach in an Entrepreneurship class.

What is especially heartening is that many of these very modern success stories are being told by women. In fact, a decade or so ago, a conference like this would have attracted very few women. Today, almost half of the participants were female. In fact, if you leave out the age groups north of 40, I would wager that women were in the majority. In entrepreneurship, the glass ceiling has not only shattered, it has disappeared completely!


And then there was William Kamkwamba from Malawi. His story is so unbelievable, all I'm going to provide you with is a link to YouTube: Moving Windmills. Who said there was no entrepreneurial spirit in Africa?


And so ends a magnificent three day event. There was a lot of networking going on. I'm especially pleased that South African organisations pitched up in great numbers. Richard Branson School of Entrepreneurship, Raizcorp, SEDA, DTI, Wits Business School, the City of Cape Town, the Bandwidth Barn, TSiBA of course, and just about anyone who is anyone in SA entrepreneurship was there.

Day 2 of MIT Start-up Workshop

Wow! What a day! Almost every event was superlative.

A session on Entrepreneurship Support Structures was highly relevant to our work at the Entrepreneurship Centre. It started with a very provocative question and one I continually grapple with at TSiBA: how on earth can a non-profit organization (university, incubator, government agency) teach entrepreneurs to make a profit? Can a non-profit truly produce the aggressive tigers that thrive in the market place or do they produce tame lions that die once they are let out into the wild? A troubling question with no easy answer...

Another highlight was Mansoor Mohamed (pictured above), Executive Director for Economic, Social Development and Tourism of the City of Cape Town, whom Leigh and I had just met in his office last week. He gave a compelling overview of the steps that the City is taking to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. One of his pet projects is an innovation hub, an area of about 10 hectares; where organisations in the entrepreneurship space will be housed together to create synergies and economic opportunities beyond their individual potential. One of these is a well-known provider of a tertiary degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership. :-) A serial entrepreneur himself, it is heartening to see a dynamic business person like Mansoor in such an influential position within city management.

And just when we thought it couldn't get much better, Alicia Polak, an ex-investment banker who left Merrill Lynch well before their demise, told her story of starting Khaya Cookies, a very profitable venture targeting unemployable women from Khayelitsha to produce high-quality cookies both for local consumption and for export to the United States.

The icing of the cake goes to Cebisa, who entered the Elevator Pitch Competition. He did really well, and tomorrow we will learn whether he can go through to the finals. "I have never been so nervous in all my life", a visibly relieved Cebisa confided to me after the event.

And just as we were completely exhausted, the Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, Kenneth P. Morse, pulled off an entrepreneurial show of epic dimensions. Whatever I try to say about his performance, you wouldn’t believe it. So I won’t even go there…

Day 1 of MIT Start-up Workshop

Cebisa and I are attending a three-day workshop on Business Start-ups (http://www.mitgsw.org/) organized by MIT and the WITS Business School. We are being sponsored by the McCoombs School of Business of the University of Texas (thanks David!). The day started of with a riveting keynote address by Euvin Naidoo of WITS. Later, there was an excellent panel discussion by university students that started their own businesses while they were still studying, something we have often discussed at TSiBA. Tomorrow has several highlights, but I will especially be following Cebisa in the Elevator Pitch Competition! Between sessions, there is a lot of networking going on and Cebisa certainly works the crowd.

L'Oreal likes our Micro-MBA students

There is nothing better than walking on the streets after you had a fresh haircut. Yesterday was one of those fresh-hair days. Bart and I went to Tersia, our new hairdresser. Tersia worked over ten years in the Sheraton Hotel (it is the Westin Grand now), but now she works from home in Thornton, only 5 minutes from our campus.

In February, she participated in our very first Micro-MBA course. What did she get from it? "I used to hope for the best each day," she said, "but now I am actually able to run my business effectively and can predict my numbers." Tersia learned about marketing and marketing research, resulting in a 40% boost in clients. She specialises in upscale service (a nice head massage and very smart advice), and is always ready to give you a new look.

We were not the only ones impressed by Tersia's skills. Recently she struck a deal with L'Oreal, the French cosmetics giant (they employ 63 000 people) as advertised by the beautiful Penelope Cruz.

If you think you fancy a great new haircut, you can reach Tersia at the following numbers: (021) 532-3366 and 073 3590234.

Letterpress at Design Indaba

I have always loved the work of Anton and Gitanjali at The Letterpress Company. But their newest creation has surpassed my wildest dreams. A stunning series of cards depicting indigenous South African trees. These were a highlight of this year's Design Indaba.


Here is what Gitanjali had to say: Design Indaba Expo showcases the cream of SA design in various disciplines. One of our popular products, which received lots of attention at the Expo, was a boxed set of large folded cards featuring indigenous trees of southern Africa. Created using earth-friendly and tree-free papers and hand-operated printing equipment, our artisan stationery will soon be exported as there was interest from Japan, France and the UK. Visit our website for more details - www.theletterpresscompany.co.za.

Mzoli in the news

Finally, an article in the mainstream media that “gets” what’s going on in the townships of Cape Town and reports on it objectively.

Silulo Ulutho Strikes Again!

On Friday, March 13, Silulo Ulutho Technologies celebrated the launch of a partnership with the City of Cape Town and with Microsoft South Africa that will make technology access more affordable for businesses and residents of Khayelitsha. And make some money for Silulo in the process through preferential pricing from Microsoft...

The keynote speakers were Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town, and Mteto Nyati, General Manager of Microsoft South Africa, pictured above with Luvuyo Rani, Silulo's MD. Our Entrepreneurship Centre has been mentoring these 4 young and dynamic local entrepreneurs since early 2008 and this is yet another milestone in their record of fabulous achievements.

Meet MC!

As our portfolio is getting larger and larger, we decided to present some of our entrepreneurs and their companies from time to time.

This week we would like you to meet with Lizo MC Mgobozi, owner of ProTeam SA. Born and raised in the Langa Township he knows the place like the back of his hand. He likes it so much he started to lead guests around. For starters, he will take you to the traditional healer/pharmacist who cures you by using plants and animal parts followed by a stop at the famed Langa Hostels, a must for anyone who is interested in South-Africa's history. Next you can find if local brews are to your likeing in an African Beer House, where you can try umqombothi, a traditional Xhosa beer. If you're feeling adventurous, you can sample Smiley, a Township treat. MC also customizes his tours upon request. His Township Experience Tours are perfect for people who wish to develope an acurate understanding of the townships as well as interact with the locals.

MC has been a tour guide for11 years. Recently he decided to take his business to a new level and obtained his official tourist guide certificate from Theta, the Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority. This means that soon you will find his brochures at your local hotel or tourist office! He is also currently working on launching a website (we'll let you know when the site will be ready).

MC also offers corporate and team building activities. He has worked with the local Department for Water and Forestry, the US Northwestern University, and many South African schools just to name a few.

For more information, feel free to contact MC and his company ProTeamSA:

Lizo MC Mgobozi

60 Sigcawu Avenue

Langa, 7455

Cape Town 8000

+27782808944

+27216941895

lmgobozi@gmail.com