Page 29 - MiNDSPACE Issue 1 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

have a mature ecosystem of venture, angel or traditional investors. The bill attracted foreign investors, which activated global partnerships and access to a global market. Lentera has not only received international recognition, but we’ve also recruited our first US-based clients.’
Even though this legislation is still very much in its infancy, it also attracted Western entrepreneurs and encouraged multinationals to invest in Africa. For instance, Meltwater Entrepreneurship School of Technology (MEST) is the European non-profit arm of a software development multinational that has built digital hubs and technology schools in Accra, Lagos, Nairobi and Cape Town.
MEST’s business rationale is to recruit and train the continent’s massive young workforce at a favourable cost, secure entry to the market and its opportunities, and diversify their own economies back home.
TOWARDS A STARTUP ACT FOR SOUTH AFRICA
A group of industry players took the first step towards realising a startup act for South Africa when they published their position statement in September 2021. It follows a lengthy consultation process with entrepreneurs, policymakers, accelerators and funders, as well as a focus group with members of parliament.
changeSPACE entrepreneurship
Their goals are, broadly speaking, ‘to reduce the red tape that undermines SMEs’ growth and development’, explains Matsi Modise, who chairs the steering committee. They further would like to see a more enabling environment for high-growth, high-impact startups, as well as a framework that allows startups to better navigate certain aspects of our labour law. Modise says, ‘It’s also important to create a better tax framework for startups. Right now, a business is taxed from the day it is registered and doesn’t really get a chance to grow before being taxed.’
OUR YOUTUBE SERIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS WITH 9 SMEs AND
9 EXPERTS
But this will take time, and more consultations with a different
set of stakeholders, including the government and private sector. Modise says, ‘It is a long process that normally takes around three years to complete.’
Yet in South Africa, as in the rest of Africa, the pandemic has shown that being connected and collaborating can make all the difference. We have found innovative ways of creating our own supply of and access to goods. We have learnt that in a digital world there are earning opportunities everywhere at any given time. Most of us have become intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs. Now we need to go further. M
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ISSUE 1 2022 | 25
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