Helping small business get funding
DIEPSLOOT – The Riversands Incubation Hub hosted the second annual FundEX event recently to give small business a helping hand.
On 17 August, Riversands Incubation Hub in partnership with Kaya FM hosted its annual FundEX event.
The event showcased a wide spectrum of funders with the aim of exposing entrepreneurs to the many funding opportunities available.
With more than 500 attendees, the event was deemed extremely successful. People from diverse backgrounds converged on the business incubator to hear valuable insights on topics such as building an investable business, how to become an inner-city property entrepreneur, government incentives as well as funding challenges and how they overcome them.
The event started on a high note as Ran Neu-Ner, co-founder of The Creative Counsel (TCC), South Africa’s largest advertising and marketing agency, delivered a powerful keynote address.
“The only reason I succeeded is because I’ve failed. I learnt nothing from success,” he said while sharing key business lessons.
Neu-Ner added that South Africans needed to get into the mindset of celebrating failure and not shun it.
He further encouraged and challenged aspiring entrepreneurs to ‘come out of the closet’, saying the time to start their businesses was today – the longer they wait, the more responsibilities life will throw at them. “The ability to take risks is a currency of entrepreneurship.”
The panel discussion, which featured entrepreneurs who successfully raised funding for their businesses, proved popular with attendees.
Entrepreneurs on the panel were Aisha Pandor, founder of SweepSouth; Peter Frolich, managing director at CreoVision; Seola Mashamaite, managing director at Montech Calibration Services; and Jan de Kock, head of Private Sector Origination at Absa. The CEO of Dzana Investments, Nkateko Khoza moderated the discussion and also shared pearls of wisdom with attendees.
The one-hour practical workshop, conducted by Marang Marekimane of Business Process Mechanics, on preparing a funding application was highly informative. As anticipated, the Funders Lounge in which entrepreneurs are allowed to book a one-on-one appointment with specialists from a range of different funders including state agencies, private equity, commercial banks and innovative alternative funding providers was oversubscribed with more than 150 people making bookings.
One entrepreneur and exhibitor on the day, Yolelwa Sikunyana the director of Sikunyana Incorporated Attorneys, said the event exceeded her expectations.
“I’m happy I got the opportunity to participate,” she said. “So much went right. We did not only get the leads, I was so impressed with the engagements from the attendees. It was really awesome.”
