In support of homegrown South African innovation, Telkom is a proud partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC+Africa) taking place from 13-14 March 2024 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). GEC+Africa, an initiative of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), is a gathering of entrepreneurs and leaders from more than 50 African nations who are committed to advancing entrepreneurial activity throughout their countries.
The South African startup ecosystem is a thriving hub of innovative and talented entrepreneurs with a desire to scale. The congress is expected to connect entrepreneurs to the best global resources and investor network, create platforms that will drive collaborative ecosystems, and advocate for policies that will empower sustainable growth for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) on the African continent.
“At Telkom, we are as committed as ever to the small-business owners who invest their ideas, sweat and money into developing businesses,” says Randall Abrahams, Telkom Group Executive of Digital Solutions. “As partners of GEC+Africa, we’re proud to be a part of a movement that advances entrepreneurship, strengthens economies and builds African communities.”
Since 2015, Telkom has supported over 2600 local, disadvantaged SMMEs with incubation, investment, connectivity and business-development support services through its Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme, Telkom FutureMakers. The Programme is aimed at enhancing market access opportunities, driving ICT innovation, and fostering inclusive participation of majority youth-, women- and black-owned SMMEs in Telkom’s supply and value chain – ensuring it accurately represents the local communities in which Telkom operates.
As part of this year’s GEC+Africa, Telkom is providing the opportunity for five SMMEs to attend the event, the attendees will include Mamello Mofokeng, founder of Saturated; Loyiso Vatsha, founder of Mapha Logistics; Benjamin Tshefu, founder of Horizontal Gravity T/A Bang Capital; Thabo Tsolo, founder of Space Salad; and Lesego Ndlovu, founder of Ball Talent. This global exposure, Telkom FutureMakers goal is to ignite creativity, challenge conventional thinking, and empower our entrepreneurs to develop new value ‘propositions that will propel them for global success.
Abrahams, alongside Telkom Head of Business Development Tshepo Phetla, will also be at the event – attending as guest speakers on the topics of emerging technologies that will transform business, and winning models for enterprise and supplier development, respectively.
“Telkom has long appreciated the role that South Africa’s entrepreneurs play for our country,” says Phetla. “Our commitment to the development of entrepreneurs is not merely lip service – we actively invest in SMMEs so that they can, in turn, contribute to the South African economy. We relentlessly seek to make the ground fertile for entrepreneurship and innovation to thrive. This mandate is an accurate reflection of Telkom’s ultimate purpose – to seamlessly connect people to better lives.”
For more information contact: media@telkom.co.za