Meet Phumzile Chifunyise, SAB’s Enterprise Development Manager. She has been behind the South African Breweries’s Entrepreneurship programme that aims to support the creation of 10,000 sustainable jobs, and drive a more inclusive economy that will enable thousands of entrepreneurs to access more opportunities.
One of SAB Entrepreneurship’s latest programmes, Biz on Tap aims to equip existing and new business owners with the knowledge, skills, tools and tips that they can access from anywhere at any time. To get the full low down, we chatted to Phumzile to find out what she had to say about Biz on Tap.
What is your role at South African Breweries?
Enterprise Development Manager.
How did SAB Entrepreneurship start?
The SAB Entrepreneurship Programme started in 2017 out of the dream to grow entrepreneurs and create sustainable jobs, thereby positively impacting South Africa and its communities both socially and economically.
What is this next big project, Biz on Tap, all about?
The SAB Entrepreneurship Programme saw a need to close the knowledge gap that small and medium businesses face, by developing a series of bite size, online business development tools that entrepreneurs all over South Africa can make use of as and when they need and at no cost.
Through our video series, we are able to reach those that are unable to participate in our traditional programmes.
Biz On Tap enables us to virtually grow small and medium businesses through much needed self-help business knowledge, skills, tools, and tips. These videos can be accessed at any time and from anywhere, as entrepreneurs continue to run their businesses.
What was your role in making sure this happened?
I identified issues that small and medium sized businesses in South Africa face. I assisted in crafting the structure of the learning series, co-collated the content, presented half of the series, as well as co-executed the rollout and I will also be involved in tracking the impact of the series.
Can any entrepreneur use these videos to help them?
Two types of entrepreneurs can use the videos; those that have a winning idea but don’t know what steps to take in getting their idea from concept to commercialisation. As well as medium-sized businesses that are operational but are looking to grow their business through joining and thriving in supply chains.
How do you see the tools being beneficial to South African entrepreneurs in a tough economic environment?
South African entrepreneurs are able to freely access the tools as they go about running their businesses, meaning that they don’t have to spend resources such as transportation fees to attend classes that teach these learnings.
These are learnings that can be applied to businesses from any industry. In the case of Series 2 for example, they can now use the learnings to join any supply chain outside of SAB.
What is your advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs?
Opportunity comes in many different forms and sizes. With freely available and credible information such as this, the opportunity lies in businesses applying the learnings and hopefully using these to improve their businesses. From financial advice to the structuring and operations of their business, the Biz on Tap platform will assist in equipping them with knowledge on how to structure their business as well as how to access and attract commercial opportunities.
SO WHERE DO I WATCH THIS MINI SERIES, BIZ ON TAP?
We’ve launched Series 1 of Biz on Tap on YouTube. In this six-part educational video series we will teach you the fundamentals needed to start your own business.
Along with the videos in Series 1, we have some helpful diagrams which you could use when applying your learnings to your business:
Series 2, which will be equally exciting, launches towards the end of May. In series 2 you can look forward to learning about how you could join a supply chain through sourcing & retaining customers and overall strategies for growth as a revenue generating business.
What are you waiting for? Follow the link now to take a sip of all the knowledge Biz on Tap has to offer: click to watch now!
We can’t wait for you to start applying the insights, don’t forget to tag us with any comments on:
Instagram: sabentrepreneurship
Facebook: @SABEntrepreneurship
Twitter: @SABEntrepreneur
LinkedIn: SABEntrepreneurship
