South African National Parks (SANParks) in partnership with FNB has completed the first part of the SANParks FNB Business Incubation Programme with 43 entrepreneurs graduating in the Kruger National Park (KNP) on 31 August 2021.
The SANParks FNB Business Incubation Programme entails implementing a mentorship, business coaching and management skills initiative via the FNB Business Incubator to local entrepreneurs selected by SANParks. The goal of the programme is to equip these entrepreneurs with the necessary skills required to think strategically about their businesses, to make smart business decisions and to deliver measurable operational excellence and ultimately see 175 entrepreneurs graduate by the end of 2021.
The KNP programme kicked off in December 2019 with two groups (Phalaborwa, Limpopo and Hazyview, Mpumalanga) with 70 entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs were comprised of 84% males and 16% females for the Phalaborwa group and 65% males and 35% females for the Mpumalanga group.
The original implementation plan entailed in-person workshops and one-on-one engagements with entrepreneurs which was disrupted by the lockdown as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic at the end of March 2020. For the remainder of the 2020 programme, the programme was offered remotely, with entrepreneur engagements happening through workshops and mentorship sessions.
SANParks, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Luthando Dziba says, “SANParks is a committed corporate citizen of the various communities within which their parks are located and is therefore committed to the promotion of constituency building as a pivot to transformation and mutually beneficial partnerships which is what this programme is all about.”
“The most valuable part of the programme is developing and mentoring entrepreneurs to be solutions-driven, think strategically, make smart decisions and deliver measurable operational excellence: this is what entrepreneurs need to succeed and this is what sets this programme apart from most incubation/ small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMME) development programmes,” says Dziba.
Sipho Silinda, Chief Executive Officer , FNB Public Sector Banking says “We all want what is best for our country, and we stand to benefit from having capable, robust, and well-supported SMMEs. FNB welcomes this opportunity to collaborate with SANParks to leverage synergies and enhance the outcomes of our respective SMMEs. Not only will this collaboration give a strong expression to our continued commitment to assist, develop SMMEs, but also help them in a path of sustainable growth and success.”
The programme is currently running in the Cape, Garden Route and Frontier regions. “The programme brings much needed emancipation of SMMEs from a dependency mind-set. This mind-set is one of the key reasons why most SMMEs remain small and emerging for prolonged periods of time. With this project we are changing the world one entrepreneur at a time,” concludes Dziba.
