Entrepreneur competition enters second round

This round gives them the understanding of what is needed to pith an idea convincingly to unsympathetic investors - a skill the organisers believe is missing in many would-be entrepreneurs. The semi-final is on Thursday 15 September 2011 and the final on Thursday 22 September.

The competition focuses on uncovering talent in rural and peri-urban towns, where economic downturn hits hardest. It also discards the reality-show format where, say organisers, invaluable insight is edited out in favour of dramatic highlights. Entrants face real-world interrogation from both judges and an audience encouraged to participate as would-be investors.

Youth needs guidance

In view of current statistics, South Africa needs such initiatives to bring new talent out of hiding. The GEM 2010 Global Report places South Africa at 8.9% for early stage entrepreneurial activity, lagging the average of 11.7% in its class. Of those polled, 40.9% recognised opportunities - an indicator that they may someday consider business - but only 16.9% had a concrete intention of doing so. Consider also the 2011 Young Upstarts Report from the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. Of 800 young people surveyed, 65% were interested in starting their own business; 19% of those had a business idea but had not acted on it.

The potential exists for explosive entrepreneurial growth, if people can be convinced to act on their aspirations sooner. Since GEM discovered that 29% of respondents expressed fear of failure, it's reasonable to assume the greatest barrier to be lack of confidence.

First crucial step

Apart from winning prizes, forums like this give aspiring businesspeople the opportunity to take the crucial first step of voicing their idea without risk. According to Allon Raiz, known business expert and one of the judges, "The competition gives potential entrepreneurs a voice and encourages members of their community to follow their example by taking a chance on their own business ideas."