https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Entrepreneurs need financial know-how to enter broader market

11th November 2016

By: Megan van Wyngaardt

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

  

Font size: - +

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that entrepreneurs come across when starting their business, is the lack of financial experience and financial intelligence, which is why greater education in this sector is needed, Gunguluza Enterprises & Media founder Lebo Gunguluza told delegates attending the Global Entrepreneurship Week on Friday.

Small Enterprise Finance Agency CEO Thakhani Makhuvha agreed, noting that the agency was often approached by entrepreneurs seeking funding for projects that were “not watertight”.

Many entrepreneurs also lacked the knowledge of how to correctly “package” and promote their business plans, he highlighted, adding that this financial skillset needed to be taught at an early age.

Both Gunguluza and Makhuvha agreed that, often, entrepreneurs lacked financial discipline and could not manage their cash flow. They added that new entrepreneurs tended to spend the money they received through development agencies and other sources of funding on “a new car”, instead of using it to source materials for their business and repay loans.

To overcome such challenges, Small Enterprise Development Agency CEO Mandisa Tshikwatamba suggested that entrepreneurs engage with vocational training institutions, as well as using the corporate environment to gain experience.

City of Johannesburg economic development executive director Ravi Naidoo added that the city was working towards making the support of small businesses a basic service, as it was “very difficult” to get a business registered, to be tax compliant and to apply for black economic empowerment status.

“All of this is very frightening,” he noted, adding that every region in the city aimed to have special incubator and hub programmes, where entrepreneurs can gain financial knowledge for free.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Online Managing Editor

Article Enquiry

Email Article

Save Article

Feedback

To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Showroom

Willard
Willard

Rooted in the hearts of South Africans, combining technology and a quest for perfection to bring you a battery of peerless standing. Willard...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Industrial Nozzles & Systems (Pty) Ltd
Industrial Nozzles & Systems (Pty) Ltd

Industrial Nozzles & Systems (Pty) Ltd (Est. 2000) exclusive representative in Southern Africa for LECHLER GmbH (Est. 1879) - Europe's leading...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Magazine round up | 08 May 2026
Magazine round up | 08 May 2026
8th May 2026

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







301

sq:0.067 0.101s - 141pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now