African Startups Can Benefit from Tholoana Enterprise Programme

The SAB Foundation has issued a call for applications for its Tholoana Enterprise Programme, which is looking for growth-oriented business owners committed to reaching new heights of achievement.

The SAB Foundation’s goal in fostering entrepreneurship is to make funding and support for company growth available to entrepreneurs so they can establish thriving, expanding, and long-lasting enterprises that can generate employment.

This year, the organization will bring on board up to 60 entrepreneurs from various industry areas around the country. The program will give preference to submissions from companies run and owned by women, young people, residents of rural areas, and individuals with disabilities.

Since 2015, South Africa’s Tholoana Enterprise Programme, an innovative and game-changing initiative of the SAB Foundation, has had a significant influence on hundreds of small enterprises. Performance among entrepreneurs who have completed the program has steadily improved. As of 2020, the program’s small enterprises supported employed an estimated 2,442 people and generated $19.3M in revenue.

Additionally, businesses’ sustainability at the end of the program is nearly nine times greater than the national average. This means that nine out of ten of them are still vital parts of the community’s economy decades later.

According to Xoliswa Moraka, manager of the SAB Foundation’s entrepreneurship development program, the program aims to deliberately provide individualized, and all-encompassing support to entrepreneurs and help them realize their full potential if they are to thrive and maintain that growth.

“Typically, entrepreneurs who participate in the programme do so feeling frustrated with their current business performance. They seek solutions to help scale their growth. To succeed and sustain that growth they require strategic, personalised and comprehensive support to help realise their full potential,” Moraka.

Eligibility Criteria for the Tholoana Enterprise Programme

Entrepreneurs that fit the following requirements are urged to apply for a highly sought-after position on the program.

• Business has been in existence for at least a year and is fully functional.
• Business is run and owned by African(s).
• Business has its headquarters and, if necessary, its registration within South African territory.
• Business has a going concern that is both financially stable and viable.
• The applicant is not employed by any other organization and is fully engaged in the daily management and operations of the firm.
• The applicant possesses the knowledge and expertise required for the kind of business they are conducting.
• The candidate must demonstrate a desire to learn, develop, and evolve.
• The candidate should have leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
• The candidate should have perseverance and ambition.

Additionally, preference will be given to:

• Business owned or operated by people with disability.
• Businesses run by women and young people.
• Businesses operating in areas transitioning from rural to urban.
• Businesses that produce jobs in places with few other employment options.

Businesses operating in emerging and expanding industries like agriculture, export, manufacturing, food processing, water, energy, and waste management are also encouraged to submit applications. Applications are accepted until noon on August 31, 2022, interested startups and individuals can click here.