(ANA) – South African Breweries’ KickStart Ignite programme, will be launched on Friday. It’s an imaginative programme to provide support and funding for “garage tinkerers” and other young innovators who can convince a panel that their schemes and dreams can be developed into viable businesses.
Participants will have just two minutes to pitch their concept to a panel of industry experts. Successful participants will be invited to a one-day “boot camp”, where experts will help them to refine their concept. After this, a select few will be invited to take part in a six-month incubation, business mentorship and training programme where they will receive a monthly stipend and seed-grant capital to launch start-ups.
KickStart is aimed at 18-35 year-olds who have a product or idea aligned to the manufacturing or ICT sectors which makes use of one or more of the following materials: 3D printing, leather, wood, metal, laser and vinyl cutting, software design programs including CAD/CAM, and electronics including development of Internet of Things technology with Arduino and Raspberri Pi.
“SAB hopes to amplify and strengthen the ‘maker’ movement which embodies artisan skills by providing an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to prototype and commercialise their ideas, creating sustainable enterprises that shift the paradigm from consumers to makers of innovative products,sevices and industries,” said SAB’s head of transformation and sustainability Mpho Sadiki.
In its 20 years in operation, KickStart has supported a total of 24,558 entrepreneurs, invested more than R90 million and helped build 3,458 youth-owned businesses, which have created an average of 6.7 jobs each. It has also ensured the survival of many start-ups that might otherwise have failed.
KickStart Ignite will act as a pipeline for the second new initiative, SAB KickStart Boost, which aims to support existing youth businesses within key local industries that have the ability to create high volumes of jobs. The third initiative, SAB KickStart Elevate, is aimed at young established businesses requiring further acceleration in order to become suppliers to big business in SA.
