The story of our Small Business Academy
Through our Small Business Academy (SBA), we give life to its vision of meaningful engagement with society and contributes in its area of expertise – namely business education.
The purpose of the Small Business Academy is to make a difference to the lives and businesses of small-business owners in low-income communities. The nine-month SBA Development Programme is currently delivered in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. Alumni of the SBA programme are supported via the SBA Growth Initiative. The SBA also undertakes research on small business development.
We work with corporate and public sector sponsors and other stakeholders to deliver the SBA Development Programme to small-business owners, and to support and guide them for nine months. The SBA Steering Committee is the governing body of the SBA. Currently, the main (Gold) sponsors are Distell and the Joe Gqabi Economic Development Agency (JoGEDA). Absa is another sponsor in the Western Cape and Silulu Ulutho Technologies from Khayelitsha is a founding sponsor. The SBA was launched in 2012.
Small Business Academy Outreach Day 2019
Managing the SBA
The Stellenbosch Business School SBA Steering Committee is the governing body of the SBA.
The nine-month SBA Development Programme offers small business owners the opportunity to gain business knowledge that will enable them to grow their existing businesses.
USB’s Small Business Academy relies heavily on funding to offer the nine-month SBA Development Programme to small business owners from low-income communities. That is why the SBA needs the support of corporate sponsors and other stakeholders to offer this skills-building programme to small-business owners.
The USB SBA undertakes and commissions research on aspects of small-business development and on the impact of the SBA Development Programme. This helps the SBA to gain an understanding of the challenges, success factors, financing needs and support structures of small businesses in these environments.
USB Alumni provide critical mentorship to the participants of this programme.
The SBA Growth Initiative provides additional support to alumni of the SBA Development Programme.
This is where you will find publicity on the SBA and its activities including television, video, online and print media.
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