Entrepreneurship

We believe in the power of one idea.
One idea that gives life to a business and drives it towards greatness.

The empowerment of entrepreneurs has always been a core objective for us at SAB. The creation of SAB KickStart, SAB Foundation, SAB Accelerator and SAB Thrive, shows our commitment to providing a tangible and sustainable future for South Africans by providing invaluable guidance and support to the businesses we partner with.

We believe in our entrepreneurs, in their dreams, in their drive to succeed and in the difference they make in our communities. That’s why we want to back them and their ideas 100%, and aim to create 10 000 sustainable jobs by 2022 through our entrepreneurship programmes.

Each of these programmes were created to aid entrepreneurs across various stages of business development and help people and communities that require business and management support. We have divided our resources into these segmented entrepreneurship programmes, in the hopes of inspiring and uplifting the communities in which they are situated.

We believe that the youth are capable of being powerful key drivers in our country’s economy. However, we are aware that on average, 70% of small businesses fail in the first 1-3 years of operation.

This is where we come in. Our aim is to help ensure that the businesses that operate in key high potential industries, and are led by young, ambitious and driven owners, are fully supported in their entrepreneurial journey through fit-for-purpose knowledge, tools and processes that will assist them to succeed long-term.

Introducing SAB KickStart, a youth entrepreneurial programme. Its main focus is to assist small business owners, between the ages of 18 and 35, so that they can play an active role in the economy by running successful and sustainable, youth-led businesses.

There are two parts to the programme – SAB KickStart Ignite and SAB KickStart Boost.

Ignite is a programme that supports disruptive, youth-led innovators that have businesses or products and services, with the potential to grow into viable businesses.

Eligible entrepreneurs receive technical product and business development support, which includes one on one mentoring, prototyping, commercialisation, and financial support, where required.

SAB KickStart Ignite is a 6-month programme which acts as a pipeline of entrepreneurs for more advanced programmes such as SAB KickStart Boost.

The Boost programme backs entrepreneurs with existing and emerging businesses in key industries. As a result, these businesses are encouraged to grow into sustainable businesses that create jobs in their surrounding communities.

The entrepreneurship programme consists of a 12-month course that includes assistance from operational processes and tools to business skills support and more. Capitalising on these skills will help take businesses to the next level.

For more information about SAB KickStart and its entry requirements, visit: https://www.sabentrepreneurship.co.za/kickstart

The SAB Foundation invests in entrepreneurs and social innovators – with an emphasis on services and products that benefit women, youth, people living in rural areas and persons living with disabilities – who show the potential and commitment to grow their businesses and create jobs.

SAB Foundation is an independent trust that was created in 2010. The foundation annually invests millions of rands towards developing entrepreneurship in South Africa and ensuring that low-income communities are uplifted.

SAB Foundation has two major focus areas, one being entrepreneurship and the other is social innovation.

“If you take a bucket that has holes, you can put water in that bucket, the bucket will never fill up with water. Through the SAB programme one was actually brought to understand that you need to start by plugging in the holes first for the business to grow.” - William Dhlongolo

Applications open once a year to recruit around 877 businesses.

Within the SAB Foundation, the Social Innovation Awards are held. These recognise the work of entrepreneurs who find innovative solutions to challenges facing some of South Africa’s most vulnerable people.

The work could include a product or a process that proves to be original and innovative within the category. You will also be required to prove that you have spent time and/or money developing your piece of work.

We define social innovation as innovation that demonstrates a sustainable business model while solving a social problem, with emphasis on innovation that benefits women, youth, people living in rural areas and people living with disabilities.

Applications for 2017 are currently closed and will re-open in 2018. They are open to all South African citizens of 18 years or older.

For more entry requirement information about the SAB Foundation Fund, visit: https://www.sabentrepreneurship.co.za/foundation

 

SAB Accelerator is focused on supporting black-owned suppliers in need of business development and technical support to grow further into the SAB supply chain.

The SAB Accelerator programme has 3 sub-programmes namely, Start-up, Catalyst and Amplify.

The Start-up and Catalyst programmes screen all potential suppliers to identify business gaps and provide the required support to enhance businesses. The suppliers are then taken through a 2-5-month programme, involving a variety of mentoring, training, and project management. Once this is complete they either graduate into the Amplify programme or graduate from the programme entirely depending on how they performed.

The Amplify programme provides additional business development support to the graduates of the Start-up and Catalyst programmes and takes place over a period of 3 months. Upon completion of the programme, applicants exit and are monitored on a bi-annual basis, for a period of 5 years to analyse their progress.

To find out more about the entry requirements for SAB Accelerator, visit: https://www.sabentrepreneurship.co.za/suppliers

The SAB Thrive Fund, is a fund focused on supporting existing black-owned suppliers in need of capital to grow and the need for improvements on their black ownership credentials by providing them with access to 100% black-owned capital.

The SAB Thrive Fund is an Enterprise & Supplier Development (E&SD) Fund powered by the Awethu Project, which is the Black Private Equity Fund Manager that owns a majority of the Fund (51%) – enabling this intervention to speak to both the spirit and the letter of the B-BBEE codes by creating shared value for both SAB and black-owned businesses.

The SAB Thrive Fund has been divided into two main parts:

The existing black-owned suppliers – which The SAB Thrive Fund can invest growth equity capital into in order to further their profitable expansion into the SAB supply chain, without diluting the black-ownership of these businesses.

The existing white-owned suppliers – which the fund also provides equity capital to, in order to support the enhancement of their black-ownership, while facilitating the introduction of a black entrepreneurs to gain an ownership stake in their business.

To find out more about the requirements for the SAB Thrive Fund visit: https://www.sabentrepreneurship.co.za/suppliers