The 17th annual African Renaissance Festival took take place from 23-26 May 2015 at the Inkosi Albert
Luthuli ICC, Durban. The festival programme commenced on 23 May with the vibrant Africa Day Concert, which was followed by the two-day African Renaissance Conference on 25 and 26 May 2015.

All speakers focused strongly on the various strategies and initiatives for entrepreneurial development underway in South Africa. There was an emphasis on youth development through various interventions, with a focus on improving access to information, education and training programmes from school to tertiary levels.

MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu said that through the promotion of an entrepreneurial spirit we can “bring about a better world”. The youth of KwaZulu-Natal need to become more economically empowered in
addition, young graduates need to be encouraged to be” job creators rather than job seekers.”

Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Small Business Development stressed that in order to create “a better Africa” and for economic transformation to occur, levels of entrepreneurship need to increase. She stressed that we need to teach students to acquire more practical business skills in order to run businesses more
effectively.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Mr Senzo Mchunu emphasized the need to “move with speed” to achieve development and counter poverty in the Province.  He said, “There is a need for entrepreneurs to establish more successful small and medium business as they are the largest contributors to new employment opportunities.” In addition, there needs to be strong focus on scarce skills to build our continent. Mchunu said, “We want to unlock such potential, particularly in the areas of agriculture and agro-processing, maritime industry, renewable energy and biotechnology.”

Mr Jeffrey Radebe, Minister in the Presidency said, â€œEntrepreneurship was the cornerstone of building Africa”.  He added, “The story of Africa is unfolding beautifully amidst many challenges. Africa is one of the fastest growing regions with many opportunities.” He also stressed that all of our people are agents of change but that education is essential for growth to occur.

Ludwig Marishane CEO of Headboy Industries emphasized the need to adopt a culture of mindfulness in pursuing entrepreneurship. Marishane says the most important advice he can give to any young entrepreneurs is to “find what you love doing, and exert all your effort on pursuing it.” Marishane also encouraged young entrepreneurs to embrace failure, as failure is an experience and the only real
failure is when you give up.

Ernest Boateng CEO of the SA Institute for Entrepreneurship stressed that we need a dynamic culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa that promotes entrepreneurial behaviour and the creation of self employment opportunities. Entrepreneurs need to be able to:

• Take initiative and risks
• Look out for opportunities
• Think: resourcefully, creatively, critically, independently and with flexibility
• Tap into interests
• Have a sense of wonder, adventure, determination,
• Work with a team

Ryan McFadyen of HaveYouHeard Marketing emphasized that success comes from doing small things
perfectly. We also need to learn from our mistakes in order to keep moving forward and not be afraid of learning as mistakes drive innovation.

Sbu Shabalala of Adapt IT emphasized the role of technology as an enabler of progress and the importance of embracing IT in all aspects of life in order to be globally competitive.

Jofrey Raymond delivered a heartfelt life story of triumph over facing the many hardships and challenges of an impoverished background. His ongoing motivation to succeed in his quest for higher education
inspired many in the audience.

Mbongeni Mathe, General Manager Youth Development, KwaZulu-Natal stressed the importance of skills
development in the road to economic empowerment. The key sectors for job creation are the green economy, agriculture, tourism and maritime. A strong focus is required on scarce skills such as engineering, science and technology, accounting, information technology, agriculture, health and social
services.

Aubrey Shabane, Chief Investment Officer KZN Growth Fund emphasized that the role of the Growth Fund is stimulate economic growth and development; provide debt and equity to viable start-ups or expansion projects; create and retain jobs; reduce inequality and promote BBBEE.

Lynda Marthinus spoke of Vodacom’s commitment to enabling entrepreneurs to grow by providing business skills training and mentoring specifically to growing ICT SMMEs. Black owned SMMEs, especially women and youth, are actively supported through these programmes.

CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dumile Cele said that all of us need to look for innovative solutions to the challenges that face our economy. Economic growth is dependent on business of all sizes and that all over the world there is a need for entrepreneurs and skills development is essential.

Prof Ahmed Bawa, Vice Chancellor Durban University of Technology, said, “We must be completely absorbed by the challenge to understand if our products (graduates) are what the world wants while being aware South Africa has a very high unemployment rate. This is not a sustainable situation and it is not a good solution to think the government will create jobs, that is the role for a new generation of entrepreneurs." He added that the university was accepting its role as an engine for entrepreneurship.

Irrshad Kaseeram, Deputy Dean Research and Innovation University of Zululand said, â€œEntrepreneurship was both a science and an art and tertiary institutions had to tackle the challenges in balancing theory
and practical aspects." He added that entrepreneurship could be trained at universities. However, he said that the university did not operate as an island and it was critical for there to be interaction between the City and educational institutions. Cities had to be increasingly technologysensitive such that the youth
could understand technology was not something happening in laboratories, but in their everyday lives.

Mangosuthu University of Technology Vice-Chancellor, Mashupye Kgaphola said the increasing rate of urbanisation was both challenging and rewarding. It placed significant pressure on urban living space
and infrastructure, but also created the environment for opportunities and innovations to flourish. Universities are grappling with the challenge of being part of the solution to unemployment,” he said.

Deresh Ramjugernath, Pro-Vice Chancellor Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship University of KwaZulu-Natal, said that up to now many universities are training students to be good
employees, not employers.  However, the concept of entrepreneurial universities is recent. The University of KwaZulu-Natal intends to:

• Advance the research and development, and innovation agenda
• Develop multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research
• Bridge the gap between research and development and commercialisation.
• Undertake all aspects of entrepreneurship
• Undertake research and development that benefits the lives of all members of society

Prof Burton Mwamila, Vice Chancellor Nelson Mandela African University of Science and Technology Tanzania, emphasized the importance of graduates who:

• Can apply knowledge to solve real African development challenges
• Are innovative and enterprising, and abhor complacency
• Are entrepreneurial and jobcreators 
• Can lead responsible and responsive research and innovation that can drive African growth post the extractive and commodity bonanza

MEC for Education, Peggy Nkonyeni highlighted the role of education in a globalised society. South African has developed a number of partnerships in educational exchange opportunities these include:

• International Exchange Partnerships
• Curriculum and cultural partnerships with schools in the City of Leeds
• Youth Leadership Program (YLP) between US and South Africa
• Our international engagement with Shanghai
• Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program
• Fulbright Foreign Student Program
• Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE)

Ms Frances Chisholm, Consulate General of the United States of America, gave a detailed account of the
various study opportunities available to South Africans to study in the USA and emphasized that many of these openings were not taken up by students.

Mr Rajagopalan Ragunathan, Consulate General of India, said that through the India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, training and capacity building is one of the major activities pursued.  Professionals and others from developing countries are offered unique training courses, both civilian and defence, in different centres of excellence.  A number of bursaries are offered in the following:

• Accounts, Audit, Banking and Finance
• IT, Telecommunication and English
• Management
• SME/Rural Development
• Specialised courses
• Technical courses
• Environmental and Renewal Energy

Mr Andreas Künne, Minister Economics and Global Issues German Embassy, said, â€œEducation is at the
root of all things.  It is a crucial element of “Africa rising”. It is a prerequisite to successfully realizing the
full potential of African entrepreneurs.” He added that the German programme focused on assisting training in Africa with an emphasis on vocational training that would help grow the economy.  He said, “Germany is strongly supporting the new TVET colleges and the development of the curricula for the most
important trades.”

Mr Roeland van de Geer, European Union Ambassador to South Africa, emphasized that a large number of European countries had bursaries programmes for South Africans and that students should take
up these offers.

All speakers stressed that there was plenty of possibilities for development and the youth needed to explore these opportunities.