GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP KICKS-OFF IN SOWETO

The Global Business School of Entrepreneurship (GBSE), that was officially launched at the SME Conference in October in Soweto, has opened its doors and will be offering some exciting courses starting early 2009. The campus is situated at the Grace Bible Church, Pimville and has fully equipped classroom facilities as well as a modern computer lab.

“Soweto is poised to make a significant contribution to the growth and development of entrepreneurs in the African continent and abroad. The sprawling township now has its own Global Business School of Entrepreneurship thanks to an initiative of the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCCI) and its global partners” says Sipho Mseleku, CEO of ASSCI, President and Chairman of GBSE.

The Soweto campus is the first of a number of campuses that will be established by GBSE countrywide to address the specific needs of SMEs and entrepreneurs in “turning job seekers into job creators”, with the ultimate aim to improve the income per capita – the basis for economic growth.

“At ASCCI we understand that the growth of our economy is dependent on the availability of skilled entrepreneurs. It is common knowledge that Africa has been found wanting when it comes to business skills. Therefore it is our belief that the Global Business School of Entrepreneurs will contribute towards populating SADC and the rest of Africa with qualified and skilled entrepreneurs.” says Mseleku.

“Soweto is home to around 40% of Johannesburg’s population. A significant percentage of this figure is of people who are self employed. Many are not in the mainstream professional category, but they too need to have basic business skills. They need to be acquainted with the basic how to of business, elements like how to access information, finance, opportunities, etc. This GBSE was designed to deliver just on that. But not only for the Soweto based entrepreneurs, but the entire continent” adds Mseleku

The Soweto courses cover the full scope of Enterprise Development and will support a blended learning model whereby all programmes have elements of contact teaching, self-study, action and experimental learning. The GBSE has developed a practical learning lifecycle model which will ensure that a Return on Investment and value is obtained from each of the programmes. Although all the courses have been designed to be practical and to address the current needs of our customers, formal certification and accreditation are available for some courses.

The following courses will kick-off in Soweto early 2009:

  • SME Development Programmes in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
  • Certificate Programmes in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (CHE accredited)
  • International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) – computer literacy
  • Introduction to Accounting and Book Keeping (Supported by Pastel)
  • Certificate Programmes in Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation for Unemployed Graduates

In supporting its objectives the GBSE has formed the following focussed centres that will offer core and fundamental courses as well as support across all the programmes above:

  • The GBSE Computer School
  • The GBSE School of Accounting and Book keeping (Foundation courses)
  • The GBSE Centre for Excellence
  • Centre for Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
  • Business Support Centres

The GBSE has also formed alliances with a number of support organisations, such as the Wits Business School, Corporate Governance Framework Research Institute (CGF), Proudly SA, Reality Check and many others.

The School will be managed by its CEO, Ezanne Swanepoel, who comments that” There are more than 1 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world today, comprising 18 per cent of the global population. Across the globe young men and women are making an important contribution as citizens, productive workers, entrepreneurs, consumers and agents of change. Their energy and innovation are priceless resources that no country can afford to squander. However, all too often their full potential is not realised because they have no access to reliable and productive information. Becoming an owner of a micro or small enterprise could be an alternative for a young person who has an entrepreneurial mindset and has also acquired some generic skills together with fundamental knowledge/information. However, awareness of this career option on the one hand, and an enabling environment for enterprise creation on the other, play a crucial and mutually supportive role for a successful start in self employment or creating a small enterprise.

Further to this Swanepoel says: “Delivery models of access to information are having the greatest impact when they try to balance the fostering of entrepreneurial approaches to career development with preventative strategies for combating youth vulnerability, poverty and exclusion. They aim towards increasing self reliance, reducing the potential for educational failure and tackling community issues. They also try to adopt a life-cycle approach – one that takes into account the inter-generational aspects of youth vulnerability. In this light, GBSE’s interventions recognise the importance of viewing each entrepreneur from a holistic perspective, not discounting the individual and their lifestyle challenges to more business related issues, but considering all aspects of the individual as equally important in affecting leadership ability and sustainable performance.”

“We are therefore saying that the SME sector will be the primary target market of the Global Business School of Entrepreneurs. It is precisely for that reason that we are launching the first school in Soweto” concludes Mseleku