New PayFast, Heavy Chef entrepreneur development programme launches

Khayelitsha cohort | image supplied

Three cohorts of 10 entrepreneurs will participate in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, and Elardus Park, Pretoria, as well as via virtual classes.

By the time participants graduate in August, each team will have created their own recipe book on the subject of online shops.

This will be developed during weekly workshop sessions, with the help of e-commerce experts, who will share their insights and act as programme mentors.

Topics to be covered include choosing an e-commerce platform, making transactions, delivering products, managing customers, and more.

Entrepreneurs will also have access to useful resources, including cash vouchers, equipment, data, access to co-working spaces, mental health support, and Heavy Chef guidebooks.

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“E-commerce makes entrepreneurship accessible to more people. You don’t need to rent out a brick-and-mortar storefront or set up a market stand to start a business anymore. All you really need is access to the internet, a solid idea, and a good understanding of what customers expect from online stores. With this mentorship programme, we hope to provide the basic ingredients for success,” says Byron Clarence, business developer manager at PayFast.

“This learning model is tailored to the context of our programme attendees, enabling them to direct their own learning and empower each other as a group. After all, entrepreneurs teaching entrepreneurs – that’s where the impact is made,” says Louis Janse van Rensburg, CEO of the Heavy Chef Foundation.