City opens door for keen and young entrepreneurs

03 October 2016

 

The City of Johannesburg’s Library and Information Services and the SME Hub held a workshop on entrepreneurship in Roodepoort, Region C, on Friday September 30.

 

The first in a series to be staged throughout the City’s seven regions over the next few weeks, the workshop – which looked at the first crucial steps to start a business – was aimed at empowering the youth with information on how they could turn their ideas into real business opportunities and success stories.

“[This is] our bit to curb unemployment in Johannesburg. We provide books on how the youth could draft their own business plans. We also provide them with free internet access and the basics of marketing,” said Roodepoort Community Library Manager Monica Ramabulana.

The workshop also covered aspects such as vision, financial management, drive and attitude, determination and commitment, and interpersonal and leadership skills.

Sonto Masilela of the Roodepoort branch of Jozi SME Hub said it also guided participants on financial risks, stress, greed and the implications of not complying with applicable legislation.

Mesuli Mgodleni, a Grade 12 learner at Florida Park High School, found the workshop highly motivating and stimulating. “I want to venture into the hospitality industry and own a restaurant one day,” said the 17-year-old from Hamburg.

“A lot of young people like myself lack the right skills to start a business. It is important for each and every entrepreneur to get every kind of guidance they can, especially in the first stages of their enterprises.

“I believe that a business needs you to have a certain instinct about it and all the tailor-made tools to run every component of it,” he said.

Mgondleni added that the workshop would also assist him with financial literacy and bookkeeping.

“I believe South Africa is doing everything for its people,” he said.

A similar workshop will be held in Randburg in Region B on Tuesday October 4.