REAL ownership, says Paul Malherbe, Business Partners’ mentorship and consulting services chief operating officer, comes from knowledge.

“Statistics show that 90% of small business failures are due to a lack of knowledge or skills on the part of the entrepreneur.”

He suggests that instead of having the element of enterprise development down in the black economic empowerment scorecard at 10 points, it should be given a weightier emphasis. “It’s the age-old story — don’t give a man a fish; teach him to fish.”

Business Partners is working with a major player in the domestic economy to identify, train and develop the business skills of 20 aspiring entrepreneurs to get them to the point where they have a “bankable” business plan.

“After financing, we attach a skilled mentor to them for 12 months, and we believe they will have a far bigger chance of success than someone who has not had that preparation,” says Malherbe. “We are concluding contracts to work with two more organisations, and next year hope to have 220 business people in the programme. Our statistics reveal that for every new business started in the small and medium enterprise environment, about 10 new jobs are created.”

Just this one programme could result in jobs for 2200 people. Encouraging hundreds and perhaps thousands of companies to start business skills initiatives, no matter how modest, could help lift the SA economy to sustainable new heights.