Corruption, stable government and prosperity

“A nation or continent that simply consumes what others create, further burdened by a select few who use their privilege to loot money and live in obscenely wealthy conditions, without generating wealth themselves, faces a serious challenge in the quest for development and growth.”

For this reason, it is of great importance to develop an entrepreneurial class on the continent and ensure that they are armed with all the tools that are required within the framework of modern enterprise, he says.

“A lot of emphasis has to be placed on improving systems, using effective technology and creative ways of doing business. The reality is that with the ‘global’ village being a reality, the only way to achieve survival at a continental and national level is ensuring that we keep up with international trends.”

Grooming effective “interpreneurial leadership” is going to be a critical component of the thrust towards developing the continent. This means developing a strong small-to medium business base and ensuring that these have the capacity to create employment and wealth.

Ade says it is on this basis that he will be speaking on the dynamics of starting and growing a business through good leadership.

“I believe that there are a lot of people who have the potential to start and develop businesses, but they are always waiting until they have enough money, until the right opportunity comes along or until they are in the right frame of mind to start. This is the wrong way of going about it. Business entails a great deal of risk. Of course, this has to be within reasonable levels. But it is important to emphasise that at some stage, starting a business entails taking the plunge.”

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Another lecture on Black empowerment, by a South African Entrepeneur says...

While he believes the South African government has taken a bold stance on Black Economic Empowerment, creating valuable opportunities for black people to enter the economic mainstream, these opportunities will not be exploited fully.

“There is a common perception that empowerment deals have come to be the privilege of a few black people. There is a lot of truth in this. Partly, this trajectory came about because there are only a certain number of black business people who have access to the fi nance, the skills pool and the deals themselves.” The answer? “Widen the poo l of black empowerment participants by identifying suitable candidates and taking them into the pool by the hand. Put simply, people would feel comfortable with giving me an empowerment deal because they believe I have the track record, the access to fi nance and the skills to make a success of it. By bringing in a young executive to run the business, I am giving that person an opportunity to become a big player in the marketplace.”

For Mashaba, Black Economic Empowerment is crucial to the success of South Africa as a country that offers equitable opportunity. The challenge lies in the fact that while at a political level, one can come up with policy and legislation to drive things in a chosen direction, this is not the case in business. Issues such as capacity, development of governance, the attitude of the fi nancial markets and other factors can play a major role in turning a good concept into a huge failure.