Johannesburg - The African continent's small and medium-sized businesses (SMMEs) are proving to be the engines of economic growth and job creation in a time of unemployment challenges and instability.
In recognition of the significant role SMMEs play, MultiChoice has launched the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator programme, which trained 29 businesses across nine African countries in key entrepreneurial skills.
A panel of experts selected 11 of the most promising small businesses to pitch to international investors in Dubai as the second leg of the programme.
Fhulufhelo Badugela, CEO of MultiChoice Africa, said there is no denying the impact African SMMEs have on economic growth and job creation.
“Through the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme, our vision is to take that impact and multiply it beyond what our start-up founders ever believed possible. I have no doubt these small businesses will be able to take everything they have learned so far to unlock transformative business funding,” said Badugela.
The programme is the brainchild of the MultiChoice Group and part of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, in collaboration with Dubai-based business incubator Companies Creating Change (C3), technical partner EOH, and Galelo Africa.
It was created as a platform to support the expansion of African start-up businesses. The programme was particularly designed to support start-ups and small businesses operating in the health, agritech, fintech, edutech, circular economy and creative industries sectors.
Badugela indicated that the quality of the submissions this year was high, which confirms their view that Africa has enormous potential.
“The specific focus on tech industries allows us to showcase the innovation of Africa to the world but also enables these businesses to develop tech solutions to real societal problems,” Badugela stated.
In the first phase of the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme, public and private-sector partners in each country nominated businesses or entrepreneurs for the programme. After the nominations, 29 start-ups then participated in an intensive virtual training course in December 2022 in Johannesburg.
Thereafter, the 11 start-ups were shortlisted and participated in a boot camp in Lusaka, Zambia, to learn more about how to shape their story for international investors and to get “pitch ready” before their big presentations.
One of those is Raymond Ledwaba, the co-founder of ITThynk, a Smart Solutions software development and consulting enterprise with over 14 years of ICT experience in South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.
ITThynk specialises in building and implementing software applications focusing on enterprise resource planning, collaboration & content management, plus business enterprise analytics. Ledwaba said the Multichoice Accelerator programme has impacted his business in two very significant ways.
“Firstly, it helped us refine our investor pitch, which stood us in good stead for future pitches and interactions with investors. Secondly, it enhanced our overall business knowledge, which allowed us to refine our business model for even greater success,” Ledwaba said.
Ledwaba said some of the biggest lessons he learnt from the programme is that creating a strong business pitch is one important aspect, but being in front of a panel of investors can be very challenging.
“You have to capture the investors' interest and strike a good balance between getting into all the details and getting to the point in a way that summarises the essence of the business idea,” he said.
The next lesson Ledwaba learnt is that following intuition when it comes to making tough business decisions is important.
“This doesn’t mean making uninformed decisions but rather trusting yourself and your initial assessment of the situation when you are calculating the way forward,” he explained.
For Ledwaba, the boot camp emphasised the importance of story and emotional connection.
“Often, we try to focus on the facts and numbers, but the investor wants to feel an emotional connection to whoever they invest in", he said.
Ledwaba said the programme provides global exposure to these exceptional African businesses across nine African countries.
“The impact of the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme is likely to be significant, as SMMEs are proving to be the engines of economic growth and job creation throughout the African continent,” he said.
These businesses are making a significant contribution to Africa's economic growth at a time when there are challenges associated with high unemployment and economic instability.
“With our business, we are currently supporting several gaming studios, which are SMMEs and have provided them with the resources to continue delivering on their projects," he said.
The programme is expected to continue to support African start-ups and small businesses and contribute to the region’s economic growth and job creation.