Business mentorship critical for improving start-up businesses high failure rate By Refilwe Mphane, NYDA Communications The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) is using the week of 19 to 23 September 2011 to highlight the critical role that business mentorship plays in improving the sustainability and growth of up-and-coming enterprises, ensuring that much-needed jobs are created and retained. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2010, South Africa’s established business rate which refers to business owners who have paid salaries and wages for more than 42 months, stands at a low 2.1%. Compared to countries such as Angola (8.6), Ghana (35.5), Uganda (27.7), Zambia (9.6), Brazil (15.3) and China (13.8), South Africa’s low rate is an indication of the high failure rate among start-up businesses. Established in 2006, the NYDA’s Volunteer Enterprise Mentorship Programme provides an opportunity for up-and-coming young entrepreneurs to benefit from the knowledge and skills of seasoned volunteer professionals and entrepreneurs whom they would not normally have access to. Mentors provide motivation, guidance and advice to help young entrepreneurs through different stages of developing their businesses, thus increasing the chances of sustainability and growth. So far over 5000 young up-and-coming entrepreneurs in all nine provinces have accessed mentoring offered by local mentors. More than 500 seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs have participated as volunteer mentors by assisting young entrepreneurs to do among other things modify their business ideas, develop business plans, access funding, implement business plans, identify and source market opportunities and develop effective business systems and processes. In addition, over 50 group-mentoring sessions have been held in the country covering key challenges affecting SMMEs such as access to funding, business leadership, business ethics and staff development. A flag‐ship programme of the Volunteer Enterprise Mentorship Programme has been established in partnership with Evo Media/IBA-Global, an organisation with Global reach that offers a formalised mentorship and leadership growth programme to young entrepreneurs through its USA-based Young Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) and CEO Leadership Programme. Through the YEP, twenty-five entrepreneurs have gone on to create successful business ventures and created 6824 jobs in a space of less than two years. Planned activities during this week include group-mentoring sessions on 20 September 2011 in Cape Town and 22 of September 2011 in Johannesburg where South African and USA based seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs will impart valuable business knowledge and skills to young South African entrepreneurs. The South African entrepreneurs who travelled to the USA through YEP and their USA-based mentors will be in attendance to share their experiences. A gala dinner will be held on 22 September 2011 to celebrate business mentors that have volunteered their time and energy to helping young entrepreneurs to realise their dreams. The NYDA encourages seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs to come on board and up-and-coming entrepreneurs to take advantage of the mentoring opportunities extended through the NYDA’s local and international partners. Print Top