Nurturing the entrepreneur’s hustle with Metropolitan’s Collective Shapers
In a country where no less than seven out of ten small businesses fail within five years according to research from the University of the Western Cape, how this critical sector is supported remains an urgent national issue. It is particularly pressing as youth unemployment numbers continue to rise.
Data from Statistics South Africa shows that the youth unemployment rate (15-34 years old) currently sits at 46%, while entrepreneurial activity by young people is still low.
And according to a 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report, by 2022 total entrepreneurial activity for 18-24 year olds was 8%, while for 25 – 34 year olds it was 10.4%. This makes the aggregate total entrepreneurial activity just 9,2% for young people.
This gap makes the structure and quality of incubation programmes important as they support young entrepreneurs, who are often inexperienced. With these challenges in mind, financial services provider Metropolitan has made holistic support for youth entrepreneurs the core of its Collective Shapers programme.
The incubation programme, started in 2021, targets young people who run a small or informal business; a demographic often under-represented in formal support. The programme develops the young entrepreneurs into future employers who can create jobs in their communities and contributors to the country’s economy.
It provides non-financial support beyond just funding, including mentorship, business coaching, personal branding & leadership training, market access and national exposure. It covers holistic support for the individual including mental health, mindset resilience and emotional wellness as part of their entrepreneurial journey.
At the launch of the fourth edition of the Collective Shapers programme recently, entrepreneurship development practitioner and changemaker, Chimene Chetty spoke about the rapidly evolving world in which aspirant business owners are operating. It is important for them to learn what they don’t know and how to go about acquiring knowledge, including about themselves. Self- belief is a critical component of business success, she emphasised.
Founder of Atteridgeville-based eatery Epicure Bitez, Thabiso Mhlongo, understands all too well what a significant boost the right incubation can provide for a business. In 2023, Mhlongo was selected as one of 20 entrepreneurs to participate in the Collective Shapers programme.
Mhlongo said having a team through the programme to share his vision and support the implementation was uplifting because he admitted that entrepreneurship can be a stressful and lonely journey.
“It gave me some peace to know that the programme has my back. They made sure that anything you need they will help you with,” he said.
Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Youth Employment Portfolio Head at Momentum Group, who has been involved in the programme since its inception said growing market access is essential for sustainable growth for the entrepreneur.
“This programme is designed to enable young entrepreneurs to thrive in their businesses, run their businesses professionally but, yes, most importantly market access opportunities for them to grow their revenue and subsequently be the job creators in our country because as we know youth unemployment is high,” he said.
By helping young people start strong, emotionally, mentally, and strategically, Metropolitan Collective Shapers ensures they are equipped with sustainability tools and access to markets to grow their business, by including past incubation programme participants as part of the Metropolitan internal supply chain.
This programme is also made possible by Metropolitan clients who strengthen the future of South Africa’s entrepreneurs by securing their own financial futures, one policy at a time.
