What's Going On
News & Views
Building Better Businesses
Symposium
September 26 - 27, 2019
The BBB Symposium opened on September 26, 2019, on the Pretoria campus of UNISA (University of South Africa). It is packed with empowerment for almost 200 budding entrepreneurs.
The premise is that small businesses are the engine of economic growth at the community level, and so the channel not only for prosperity but for social development. The Symposium applies the tools of management savvy, seed investment and mentoring to boost success.
In two days the Symposium offers a sort of crash-course in carrying a good business idea into successful practice: inspirational stories from proven entrepreneurs; the theoretical approach of Asset-Based Community-led Development to spot opportunities; and practical guidance in the essentials of legal requirements, networking, finances and accounting. Bonus: there are incentive cash awards.
The presenters and facilitators are a cast of dynamic leaders: Rotary Presidents and District Governors, professors and authors, managers in banking, human-resources, and real estate, specialists in law and in management technology … plus ‘real-life’ entrepreneurs who have ‘made it’. These are people who know business and mean business.
The Symposium is a demonstration of the power of partnership: the Symposium, and what happens after, works because of the cooperative contributions, with The Townships Project, of Rotary, the University of South Africa, SAGE Accounting, MacRobert Attorneys and others.
Looking to the Future
Strategic Planning Retreat coming up
The Board of Directors of The Townships Project will gather in Toronto on October 21/22, 2019 to refresh our thinking:
❖ What are we all about?
❖ How do we follow up the successes of the past two decades?
❖ How can we best contribute to the further boosting of small businesses, so as to promote social development in South Africa?
MAKING CONNECTIONS in HAMBURG
The Townships Project at the Rotary
International Convention - June 2019
The annual gathering of Rotarians from around the world ... a great opportunity to spread the word about The Townships Project and garner support for the Building Better Businesses Symposium.
There were already links with some Rotary clubs, and we worked hard, at break-out workshops, sub-meetings and meals, to make more connections which we believe will lead to more Rotarian involvement in Building Better Businesses in South Africa.
Click the buttons below to see the information brochure we gave out, and a summary report about making connections.
