Category: SAtion News

South African business ecosystem SAtion has won the award for Start-up Ecosystem Builder of the Year 2022 in South Africa. The award was presented at the annual Africa Start-up Ecosystem Builders (ASEB) Summit in Johannesburg.

The Start-up Ecosystem Builder of the Year Award is affirmation of the innovative work by the SAtion team and its more than 100 partner organisations to cultivate the digital marketplace and skills South Africa needs for our economy to succeed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The awards saw more than 2700 nominations from over 40 African Countries across 27 categories. After intense deliberation, 175 companies and individuals were selected as finalists.

SAtion was established with the support of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) as a non-profit ecosystem for businesses, government, labour and civil society to drive inclusive growth and opportunity from the 4IR.  Working with the recommendations from the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR), SAtion brings focus to the digitaliSAtion workstream in the President’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to ensure rapid implementation, outcomes, and impact. In his speech at the ANC anniversary celebrations in Bloemfontein, President Ramaphosa said he is betting on new technologies for South Africa’s economic development and employment creation, calling for a concerted effort in driving the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).  The President highlighted the 4IR as a critical enabler of economic growth and job creation, saying: “Rapid technological change, including the fourth-industrial-revolution, is changing economies and societies.”

To date, SAtion has established four Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) business hubs and three digital hubs. These hubs have had over 3200 sign-ups in 18-months.  SAtion has distributed numerous Thinkubate licenses to SMMEs with 89% black ownership, 22% female ownership and 45% youth ownership across South Africa. Thinkubate is a business lifecycle tool that covers all life stages of a business with bespoke solutions to keep businesses moving forward. SAtion has led pioneering partnerships with global tech giant Microsoft, the Tarsus Technology Group, and the local Covid-19 Business Rescue Assistance (COBRA) initiative to help SMMEs and develop the township economy.

SAtion and partners work to understand grassroots issues and then provide SMMEs with business support and guidance. Drawing on expert experience, COBRA provided business advisory support and services to over 570 businesses during the Covid-19 Pandemic to safeguard livelihoods. Furthermore, SAtion has hosted digital skills and SMME business challenge hackathons, in partnership with incubation hubs, aimed at developing winning ideas into operational, sustainable and successful businesses. SAtion is committed to building a digital nation and will continue striving toward creating a positive social impact to allow South Africa to be a globally competitive economy in the 4IR.

The ASEB Summit was created to advance start-up ecosystem building as a new approach to economic development in order to help more people and communities achieve economic independence through entrepreneurial success while awarding ecosystem builders. SAtion is honoured by this continental recognition of its initiatives, and eager to continue driving its mission forward in 2023.

Source: Creamer Media’s Engineering News
Published 19 January 2023

The Start-up Ecosystem Builder of the Year Award is affirmation of the innovative work by the SAtion team and its more than 100 partner organisations to cultivate the digital marketplace and skills South Africa needs for our economy to succeed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The awards saw more than 2700 nominations from over 40 African Countries across 27 categories. After intense deliberation, 175 companies and individuals were selected as finalists.  SAtion was established with the support of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) as a non-profit ecosystem for businesses, government, labour and civil society to drive inclusive growth and opportunity from the 4IR. Click here to read more

Source: The GIBS Blog (Gordon Institute of Business Science)

South African business ecosystem SAtion has won the award for Start-up Ecosystem Builder of the Year 2022 in South Africa. The award was presented at the annual Africa Start-up Ecosystem Builders (ASEB) Summit in Johannesburg.

The Start-up Ecosystem Builder of the Year Award is affirmation of the innovative work by the SAtion team and its more than 100 partner organisations to cultivate the digital marketplace and skills South Africa needs for our economy to succeed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The awards saw more than 2700 nominations from over 40 African Countries across 27 categories. After intense deliberation, 175 companies and individuals were selected as finalists.

SAtion was established with the support of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) as a non-profit ecosystem for businesses, government, labour and civil society to drive inclusive growth and opportunity from the 4IR. Working with the recommendations from the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR), SAtion brings focus to the digitaliSAtion workstream in the President’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to ensure rapid implementation, outcomes, and impact. In his speech at the ANC anniversary celebrations in Bloemfontein, President Ramaphosa said he is betting on new technologies for South Africa’s economic development and employment creation, calling for a concerted effort in driving the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). The President highlighted the 4IR as a critical enabler of economic growth and job creation, saying: “Rapid technological change, including the fourth-industrial-revolution, is changing economies and societies.”

To date, SAtion has established four Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) business hubs and three digital hubs. These hubs have had over 3200 sign-ups in 18-months. SAtion has distributed numerous Thinkubate licenses to SMMEs with 89% black ownership, 22% female ownership and 45% youth ownership across South Africa. Thinkubate is a business lifecycle tool that covers all life stages of a business with bespoke solutions to keep businesses moving forward. SAtion has led pioneering partnerships with global tech giant Microsoft, the Tarsus Technology Group, and the local Covid-19 Business Rescue Assistance (COBRA) initiative to help SMMEs and develop the township economy.

SAtion and partners work to understand grassroots issues and then provide SMMEs with business support and guidance. Drawing on expert experience, COBRA provided business advisory support and services to over 570 businesses during the Covid-19 Pandemic to safeguard livelihoods. Furthermore, SAtion has hosted digital skills and SMME business challenge hackathons, in partnership with incubation hubs, aimed at developing winning ideas into operational, sustainable and successful businesses. SAtion is committed to building a digital nation and will continue striving toward creating a positive social impact to allow South Africa to be a globally competitive economy in the 4IR.

The ASEB Summit was created to advance start-up ecosystem building as a new approach to economic development in order to help more people and communities achieve economic independence through entrepreneurial success while awarding ecosystem builders. SAtion is honoured by this continental recognition of its initiatives, and eager to continue driving its mission forward in 2023.

‘Disclaimer – The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’.

Published 19 January 2023

https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sation-is-the-south-african-start-up-ecosystem-of-the-year-2023-01-19/rep_id:4136

Image source: beechamber

Three organisations have joined their efforts to fast-track the digital transformation of 40 small businesses and tech entrepreneurs from townships in and around Johannesburg.

Tarsus On Demand, in collaboration with SAtion and Microsoft, will offer a free, day-long business development workshop for 40 SMMEs in Alexandra, Soweto and Tembisa.

The initiative builds on the existing partnership between SAtion and Tarsus On Demand to help drive growth and digital transformation in SA’s SMME sector.

The workshop, taking place on 11 November, aims to equip township tech SMMEs with knowledge, skills and resources to grow their businesses, according to a Tarsus On Demand statement.

In addition, the workshop will aim to help them streamline their workflows, communicate more effectively with customers, and gain better insights into their operations, market and competition.

Mpho Nyembe, brand and programme manager at Tarsus On Demand, comments: “A thriving SMME sector is the key to addressing the challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality in South Africa.

“To harness the potential for SMMEs as an engine for inclusive growth, we need to break down the obstacles entrepreneurs face, as well as equip them with the resources they need to become globally competitive.

“This initiative with SAtion and Microsoft is one of the ways we are helping to expose SMMEs to best business practices and equip them with the skills and tools to thrive in the digital economy. We are looking forward to working with our partners to help these emerging businesses scale and succeed through digital technology and cutting-edge strategies.”

Tarsus On Demand is the cloud enablement subsidiary of technology group Tarsus.

Unveiled last June, SAtion is a non-profit enterprise that seeks to bring stakeholders in the private and public sectors together, to discuss, coordinate and implement fourth industrial revolution projects. These include Business Unity South Africa, government, large and small entities, industrialists, private investors, thought leaders and educational institutions.

The statement notes Mbekezeli Khumalo from the Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute will facilitate the training, focusing on business and go-to-market strategies, finance, social media presence, as well as modern work collaboration tools.

Justine Grimmer, programme lead of the SAtion ecosystem, adds: “Township SMMEs have enormous potential to drive growth and create jobs. However, all too many face challenges accessing the data and resources they need to make informed business decisions, optimise costs, drive innovation and reach customers.

“We are, for that reason, pleased to be working with Tarsus On Demand and Microsoft to equip SMMEs with practical, actionable advice about how they can streamline management of their businesses and grow revenues in a volatile world. By helping more SMMEs to thrive, we can advance sustainable employment and create a more prosperous future.”

Source : https://www.itweb.co.za/content/RgeVDqPRRVz7KJN3

For more latest articles please visit the following link : Articles – NGOConnectSA

Picture Courtesy Pexels : https://www.pexels.com/photo/business-charts-commerce-computer-265087/

Tarsus on Demand is partnering with the SAtion ecosystem and Microsoft to offer a free, day-long business development workshop…

Publication: Citizen (Country Edition) – Image source: Citizen

Three organisations have joined their efforts to fast-track the digital transformation of 40 small businesses and tech entrepreneurs from townships in and around Johannesburg.

Tarsus On Demand, in collaboration with SAtion and Microsoft, will offer a free, day-long business development workshop for 40 SMMEs in Alexandra, Soweto and Tembisa.

The initiative builds on the existing partnership between SAtion and Tarsus On Demand to help drive growth and digital transformation in SA’s SMME sector.

The workshop, taking place on 11 November, aims to equip township tech SMMEs with knowledge, skills and resources to grow their businesses, according to a Tarsus On Demand statement.

In addition, the workshop will aim to help them streamline their workflows, communicate more effectively with customers, and gain better insights into their operations, market and competition.

Mpho Nyembe, brand and programme manager at Tarsus On Demand, comments: “A thriving SMME sector is the key to addressing the challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality in South Africa.

“To harness the potential for SMMEs as an engine for inclusive growth, we need to break down the obstacles entrepreneurs face, as well as equip them with the resources they need to become globally competitive.

“This initiative with SAtion and Microsoft is one of the ways we are helping to expose SMMEs to best business practices and equip them with the skills and tools to thrive in the digital economy. We are looking forward to working with our partners to help these emerging businesses scale and succeed through digital technology and cutting-edge strategies.”

Tarsus On Demand is the cloud enablement subsidiary of technology group Tarsus.

Unveiled last June, SAtion is a non-profit enterprise that seeks to bring stakeholders in the private and public sectors together, to discuss, coordinate and implement fourth industrial revolution projects. These include Business Unity South Africa, government, large and small entities, industrialists, private investors, thought leaders and educational institutions.

The statement notes Mbekezeli Khumalo from the Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute will facilitate the training, focusing on business and go-to-market strategies, finance, social media presence, as well as modern work collaboration tools.

Justine Grimmer, programme lead of the SAtion ecosystem, adds: “Township SMMEs have enormous potential to drive growth and create jobs. However, all too many face challenges accessing the data and resources they need to make informed business decisions, optimise costs, drive innovation and reach customers.

“We are, for that reason, pleased to be working with Tarsus On Demand and Microsoft to equip SMMEs with practical, actionable advice about how they can streamline management of their businesses and grow revenues in a volatile world. By helping more SMMEs to thrive, we can advance sustainable employment and create a more prosperous future.”

Source: ITWEb
Image: ITWeb

SA needs to leapfrog to a digital solution that solves one of its most fundamental problems: validly documenting the existence of citizens

“The future of African economies and the opportunities available for its young people will depend, in large part, on patterns of investment.” So says the Financial Times in the lead-up to its Africa Summit, to be held in London on Tuesday, October 18.

The Financial Times also recognises that investing in Africa’s digital future is critical. But situated at the pointy end of our continent, the race for the digital future of Africa needs to be better understood here at home. Despite stage 6 load-shedding, despite rising violent crime, despite political uncertainty, it might shock the despondent to know there’s much that can be done to make SA an attractive investment haven. And it starts with leapfrogging to a digital solution that solves one of SA’s most fundamental problems: validly documenting the existence of citizens.

It’s a fool’s errand to expect government alone to seamlessly design and implement an effective digital identity programme. The only way that we can achieve this is for the private and public sector to work together to deliver access to all citizens for their unique digital identity. This would unlock huge growth potential and safeguard essential services such as welfare, banking, healthcare, tax collection, education and so much more to enable better freedom of movement and access to inclusive growth fundamentals.

Countries such as India have already had huge success in transforming parts of their population based on digital vetting. There, the first Unique ID, popularly known as the Aadhaar biometric system, was generated on September 29 2010. Just over 12 years later, by July 2022, 1.3-billion Aadhaar numbers had been generated and issued to the residents of India. That means nearly 93% of India’s vast population are uniquely captured and identified on a safe system that gives them access to a range of public and private services. Though there are some critical improvements still to make, it’s widely credited as being India’s foundational identity platform on which all other digital services have been built and are flourishing.

The so-called Indian “digital stack” of essential digital components include electronic know your client (eKYC), digital signatures (eSign), and electronic payment platforms like Rupay and eRupi. These and more have created an enabling and facilitative environment for other digital services to emerge and investments to flow.

If this were to be adopted in SA it could significantly change how citizens engage with the state and one another. Some of the universal benefits would include a modernised public service with enhanced privacy, confidentiality, trust and information security. Business and tax registration would be streamlined, making it easier to start and run a business — and account to the fiscus for its success.

Civil processes would be more co-ordinated, with less risk of human error and exploitation. Labour productivity would increase, as would citizens’ overall confidence in the state. It would also increase fraud prevention, decrease identity theft and support a secure purchasing environment. All of these factors would contribute to stabilising SA’s backbone ability to offer a stable growth environment for inclusive investing.

And with the reality of our bruised economy, the example of Estonia is instructive in how SA can turn its battered reputation around on a tight budget. In 1991, when Estonia gained independence from the Soviet Union, it was essentially bankrupt. It had no budget to buy or develop highly sophisticated systems. So its cabinet, comprising young and amateur politicians, took a bold approach. Instead of striving to update existing but barely functioning systems, Estonia’s leaders took on the impossible: building most institutions from scratch, on virtually no budget, and in a short space of time.

What these tight parameters meant though was that a small, highly motivated group of individuals in the public and private sector were forced to work together to deliver huge results. And as impossible as it sounds to SA ears, these teams reported that the key to building an accountable system that can combat risks of corruption was a vulnerable sharing of trust in one another. Their trust was built on a shared sense of civic duty, renewed after the gaining of independence, and the need to build a stable state to welcome investment and ex-patriots home.

In the 30 years since independence Estonia has completely turned around the future of its people. With a GPD per capita in 1991 of $100 per person, to a GDP per capita in 2021 of $22,986, it’s clear they are succeeding. Every interaction an Estonian has with the state is transacted digitally, aside from marriage and divorce.

In our work with various government agencies and private sector leaders, what is absolutely not lacking across the board is the will to develop a modern, digitalised civil service. What we are lacking is a clear plan to achieve this. SAtion is engaging at the highest levels to develop a robust, safe, corruption-free and resilient citizen digital identity regime. We need to trust one another to create a safe and enabling relationship in which we can share our collective skills and expertise for a digitalised African investment haven. Our time is now.

17 OCTOBER 2022 – ADAM CRAKER AND JUSTINE GRIMMER

• Craker is CEO and Grimmer programme director at SAtion, SA’s largest digitalisation NPO.

Image source: 123RF/EverythingPossible

Nonprofit organisation Covid-19 Business Rescue Assistance (Cobra) is integrating with business organisation Business Unity South Africa‘s (Busa’s) SAtion ecosystem. Cobra expects its work with SAtion to help hundreds of businesses to take advantage of the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

“We know that the small, medium-sized and microenterprise (SMME) sector should be the powerhouse of our economy, and we need to be doing all we can to ensure SMMEs benefit from the efficiencies and opportunities in the digital economy,” says Cobra COO Bob Grewar.

“Cobra’s partners bring big business skills to SMME needs and we’ve done this with tremendous success during the most challenging lockdown days. Now that things are starting to look up, we are determined to help every possible business to press go for growth,” he adds.

SAtion was established as a shared value and nonprofit ecosystem of businesses, government, labour and civil society representatives to lead South Africa through the 4IR. SAtion brings focus to the digitaliSAtion workstream in the President’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to ensure rapid implementation, outcomes and impact.

SAtion continues to engage with pivotal local and international stakeholders to accelerate the growth of the digital economy in South Africa, says SAtion programme lead Justine Grimmer.

“The collective know-how and extensive partner network within the Cobra ecosystem is second to none. Its collaboration of enterprises is united to use business as a force for good by assisting other companies to thrive in a challenging economy, to safeguard livelihoods, and ultimately improve the social wellbeing of all South Africans.

“Now, as part of SAtion, our quest to bust digital barriers and connect SMMEs and entrepreneurs to the best brains in the country is zooming ahead. The SAtion team has several exciting developments currently underway, and looks forward to communicating these as soon as they have been finalised,” she comments.

Cobra was established as a social enterprise and shared value ecosystem during March 2020 to ensure SMME businesses impacted by lockdown were able to receive the support and funding they needed to keep their doors open.

The Cobra ecosystem has handled 570 requests from enterprises seeking assistance and has saved thousands of jobs in the process.

These enterprises are not only resilient but are poised to enter a new era of growth as businesses expand through digitalisation, the organisation says.

Cobra’s assistance includes restructuring, refinancing, accessing unemployment insurance for staff, pivoting core offerings, moving onto digital platforms, business rescue, and corporate turnaround. Seventy per cent of businesses assisted were SMMEs with fewer than ten employees.

The organisation also provided crisis support to businesses caught up in the insurgency protests of July 2021.

EDITED BY: CHANEL DE BRUYN
CREAMER MEDIA SENIOR DEPUTY EDITOR ONLINE

Source: Engineering News 

Today we announce that South Africa’s largest non-profit organisation supporting SMMEs, COBRA, is integrating with the BUSA-founded SAtion ecosystem. COBRA expects its work with SAtion to result in thousands more jobs saved, and hundreds of businesses boosted to take advantage of the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution.

SAtion was established by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) as a shared value and non-profit ecosystem of businesses, government, labour and civil society to lead South Africa through the fourth industrial revolution. Chaired by Bongumusa Makhathini and including Cas Coovadia, CEO of BUSA as a non-executive director, SAtion brings focus to the digitaliSAtion workstream in the President’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan to ensure rapid implementation, outcomes, and impact.

COBRA is an NPO that was set up during March 2020 to ensure small and medium-sized businesses impacted by lockdown were able to receive the support and funding they needed to keep their doors open. The COBRA ecosystem has handled 570 requests from enterprises seeking assistance and has saved thousands of jobs in the process. These enterprises are not only resilient but are poised to enter a new era of growth as businesses expand through digitalisation. Established as a social enterprise and shared value ecosystem, COBRA prides itself on its partnerships with 90 leading companies and fellow social enterprises that possess knowledge and experience in diverse spheres of business governance, strategy, and operations.

COBRA’s assistance includes restructuring, refinancing, accessing unemployment insurance for staff, pivoting core offerings, moving onto digital platforms, business rescue, and corporate turnaround. 70% of businesses assisted were small to medium enterprises (SMMEs) with fewer than 10 employees.  COBRA also provided crisis support to businesses caught up in the insurgency protests of July 2021.

“We know that the SMME sector should be the powerhouse of our economy – and we need to be doing all we can to ensure SMMEs benefit from the efficiencies and opportunities in the digital economy. COBRA’s partners bring big business skills to SMME needs, and we’ve done this with tremendous success during the darkest lockdown days. Now that things are starting to look up, we are determined to help every possible business press go for growth” shared Bob Grewar, COO of COBRA.

“The collective know-how and extensive partner network within the COBRA ecosystem is second to none. Its collaboration of enterprises is united to use business as a force for good by assisting other companies to thrive in a challenging economy, to safeguard livelihoods, and ultimately improve the social wellbeing of all South Africans. Now, as part of SAtion, our quest to bust digital barriers and connect SMMEs and entrepreneurs to the best brains in the country is zooming ahead” said Justine Grimmer, SAtion Programme Lead.

SAtion continues to engage with pivotal local and international stakeholders to accelerate the growth of our digital economy in South Africa. The SAtion team has several exciting developments which are currently underway – and looks forward to communicating on these as soon as they have been finalised.

Issued by Justine Grimmer, SAtion Programme Lead and Bob Grewar, COO of COBRA 

Source: polity.org.za

The team Kasi Army, which comprises young developers such as team leader Nonhlanhla Zembe (29), Sinazo Mona (32), Bongane Mawele (22), Mamello Mofokeng (27) Nkululeko Nkosi (27), Mfundo Ntuli (27) and Alex Thotse (25), took the first prize at the hackathon.

Johannesburg – Global tech powerhouse Microsoft has partnered with two local tech non profit companies to empower and develop digital solutions for small businesses in the country.

Microsoft has partnered with SAtion and the Empire Partner Foundation to propel small businesses to growth.

In a recent two day coding festival held in Sandton, the global software corporation teamed up with the non profits to challenge young innovators to hack a solution that can assist small to medium enterprises to access new markets, reduce business costs and increase efficiencies and productivity.

The participants were equipped with tools to assess and shape opportunities of launching new projects and ventures.

More than 114 young digital innovators in programming, data science, data engineering, UI-UX, business, finance and marketing from across South Africa took part in solving the challenge.

“Township SMMEs are an integral part of the backbone of communities in South Africa. These SMME provide vital job opportunities and have the potential to make significant contributions to economic growth.

“This Hackathon, sponsored by Microsoft and enabled by Empire Partner and the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundations, is just one way of doing it, and there are so many more catalytic moments to come,” said Mikhial Mariemuthu, a senior manager at EmpirePartner Foundation.

The tech non profits said with the worsening youth unemployment rates in the country, technology was the solution and young people needed to quickly adapt and learn new emerging skills that increase their opportunities to actively participate in the digital economy.

“As South Africa’s biggest most dedicated NPO for digital growth transformation, SAtion is determined to bring together the world’s best – from multinationals to grassroots talent – to bridge our country’s digital divide and grow our 4IR capability,” said Justine Grimmer, SAtion’s programme lead.

A recently released Stats SA Labour Force Survey shows there were 7.8 million jobless South Africans in the second quarter, representing 34.4% of the population – much of them below the age of 35.

The tech non-profits aim to develop young software developers who have viable business ideas with start-ups.