Telkom proudly supports homegrown South African innovation as a key partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC+Africa), held from March 13th to 14th, 2024, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)
Organised by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), GEC+Africa brings together entrepreneurs and leaders from over 50 African nations, dedicated to advancing entrepreneurial activity across the continent.
South Africa's startup ecosystem is vibrant, teeming with innovative entrepreneurs eager to scale their ventures. The congress aims to connect entrepreneurs with global resources and investor networks, establish platforms for collaborative ecosystems, and advocate for policies fostering sustainable growth for small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) throughout Africa.
Randall Abrahams, Telkom group executive of digital solutions, stated, "At Telkom, we are as committed as ever to the small-business owners who invest their ideas, sweat and money into developing businesses. As partners of GEC+Africa, we're proud to be a part of a movement that advances entrepreneurship, strengthens economies and builds African communities."
Since 2015, Telkom has supported over 2600 local, disadvantaged SMMEs through its Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme, Telkom FutureMakers. This program provides incubation, investment, connectivity, and business development support services, enhancing market access opportunities, driving ICT innovation, and promoting inclusive participation of youth-, women-, and black-owned SMMEs in Telkom's supply chain.
As part of GEC+Africa 2024, Telkom is sponsoring five SMMEs to attend the event, including Mamello Mofokeng of Saturated, Loyiso Vatsha of Mapha Logistics, Benjamin Tshefu of Horizontal Gravity T/A Bang Capital, Thabo Tsolo of Space Salad, and Lesego Ndlovu of Ball Talent. This global exposure aims to ignite creativity, challenge conventional thinking, and empower entrepreneurs to develop new value propositions for global success.
Abrahams, alongside Telkom Head of Business Development Tshepo Phetla, will also be at the event - attending as guest speakers on the topics of emerging technologies that will transform business, and winning models for enterprise and supplier development, respectively.
"Telkom has long appreciated the role that South Africa's entrepreneurs play for our country," commented Phetla. "Our commitment to the development of entrepreneurs is not merely lip service - we actively invest in SMMEs so that they can, in turn, contribute to the South African economy. We relentlessly seek to make the ground fertile for entrepreneurship and innovation to thrive. This mandate is an accurate reflection of Telkom's ultimate purpose - to seamlessly connect people to better lives."
