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Township training with Ekasi Entrepreneurship Academy

Cindy Krawe, TSiBA's Community Training Courses Co-ordinator, has recently launched a joint venture project with Silulo Ulutho Technologies to create a training academy in Khayelitsha. Ekasi Entrepreneurship Academy aims to empower township entrepreneurs by giving them the necessary skills and training to grow their businesses.

Ekasi Entrepreneurship Academy opened for business on 23 July with its first intake of nine entrepreneurs. Ekasi means "township" in Xhosa and the name was chosen with a long term dream of opening many of these academies in townships all over Cape Town. The courses are aimed at entrepreneurs with start-up businesses or individuals who have an idea for a business that they want to start. The first course is 12 weeks long and covers topics such as Business Essentials, Business Plan Writing and Mentorship. The course costs R2000 and classes run every week day morning from 08h00 - 10h00 until 12 October at Silulo's Head Office at Khaya Bazaar. The course facilitator, Cindy Krawe, teaches the training material. Cindy has been involved in community training since she graduated from The Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) with her BBA degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership in 2010.

Cindy noticed the overwhelming number of unemployed people in her community and decided to do something about it. She explains, "From the research I conducted, some of the reasons for the high numbers of employment were due to the fact that people didn't have job finding skills, they did not know how to use a computer or type out a CV and if they were lucky enough to secure an interview, they didn't know how to adequately prepare for it to make a good impression." Cindy and TSiBA entered into a joint venture to start the TSiBA Community Training Programme which forms part of the Ignition Centre. Founded in 2007, the TSiBA Ignition Centre is a hub dedicated to extending TSiBA's mission of "Igniting Opportunity" to reach beyond their students and into the communities they come from. The centre offers support to community members and aspiring entrepreneurs through specific training courses, mentorship programmes, networking opportunities, access to business networks, office infrastructure and business instruments.

To date, the Ignition Centre has helped over 200 entrepreneurs and one of the major success stories is Luvuyo Rani of Silulo Ulutho Technologies. Luvuyo is a former teacher and started his computer sales business from the boot of his Corsa Lite. He first came to TSiBA to seek help with managing growth, finance and compliance. Silulo Uluthu now has more than 18 internet cafés and computer training centres in Cape Town and has recently opened its first internet café in Queenstown, Eastern Cape. Silulo Ulutho was the perfect choice as a joint venture partner because they are committed to empowering individuals with knowledge to create more successful township entrepreneurs.

To book a place on the next course in October, you can contact Nomthandazo Mlungwana at Silulo Ulutho Technologies on 021 361 3212 or email Nomthandazo Mlungwana moc.liamg@zeidnaht.

23 Aug 2012 10:05

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TSIBA Education trading as TSIBA Business School is registered as a non-profit and public benefit organization with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997. (Registration certificate no. 2007/HE08/001)