This edition of the Business Day Spotlight focuses on the core skills for entrepreneurial success in South Africa
Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Carl Herman, head of impact assurance at the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, and Prof Melodi Botha, a researcher in entrepreneurship at the University of Pretoria (UP).
The discussion focuses on a seven-year research study by Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and UP that identified the top competencies of action-driven entrepreneurs across diverse backgrounds.
Botha details the methodology used to put together the study.
Ultimately, the report identified the 14 core skills proven to help South African entrepreneurs start and sustain businesses.
“Those individuals who possess a growth mindset emerged as the most likely to start businesses,” says Botha.
Herman, drawing on years of working with business owners, explains how the findings align with what they see each day.
“What became clear from our work is that many entrepreneurship education programmes take a generic approach when developing entrepreneurial competencies. They often fail to consider individual learning styles, sticking to a one-size-fits-all method. Even some international frameworks that were tested didn’t quite meet the mark,” says Herman.
Through the discussion, the team outlines the results of a new study on entrepreneurs; core skills for business owners; how the study was conducted; and how the findings can be used to improve education around entrepreneurship.
Join the discussion:
Producer: Demi Buzo
Business Day Spotlight is an Arena Podcasts Production.
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