Pretoria – The Department of Small Business Development is rolling out centres for an entrepreneurship programme in conjunction with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
“The Department of Small Business Development is expanding the Centre for Entrepreneurship initiative as a vehicle for building entrepreneurial capacity and to provide an opportunity to individuals to start their own entrepreneurial journey,” Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu said on Tuesday in Cape Town.
Speaking at the launch of the Centre for Entrepreneurship (CfE) at the False Bay FET College, Minister Zulu said the centre was aimed at ensuring that small businesses progressively increased their contribution to the broader development objectives of the country.
The centre is a product of a five-year Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Small Business Development and False Bay FET College.
The centre forms part of the department’s initiative to target FET institutions to promote entrepreneurship education, training and development.
“I am confident that this centre will continue to grow and develop entrepreneurs in this area and also serve as a hub for information and training.
“It is my fervent wish that this centre will open new avenues for currently dormant and potential entrepreneurs,” she said.
Minister Zulu said entrepreneurship should be promoted as a viable career path.
She encouraged all faculties to develop opportunities for students at every level, integrate entrepreneurship into the curriculum and build towards a multidisciplinary learning environment.
“We must inculcate an understanding that starting a business is not something you do because you have run out of options and you find yourself unemployed. Entrepreneurship must be a conscious and solid decision,” she said.
Minister Zulu said entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking the country’s economic potential.
“Together, we must work towards building a culture of entrepreneurship in the country.
“We must consciously strive to build a nation of entrepreneurs and not a nation of job-seekers,” she said.
Minister Zulu said her department would work with its partners, especially tertiary institutions to reignite the spirit of entrepreneurship that was so cruelly exterminated by apartheid.
“We must pursue an aggressive entrepreneurship drive and create an enabling environment that will make it easy for South Africans, particularly the youth, to start and sustain their businesses.
“Our people must seize the economic opportunities presented by our democracy and freedom to build and grow businesses,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
