CULTIVATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHIN MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES PO Box 150, 49c Stuart Street, Harrismith 9880 South Africa Tel:

(058) 6230104 /6230649/6230123 Fax: (058) 6230107 EMail: ewet@ewet.org.za

Registration no. 5961/92. Public Benefit Organization no. 930013786. Non-profit registr. no. 000-383

YES (Youth Enterprise Society) SIMAMA RANTA

Learners who excelled within entrepreneurship education could enter for selection to participate within the YES (Youth Enterprise Society) Simama Ranta competition. This competition is open for entry to all students older than 16 years of age and who are either in Grade 10 or Grade 11. Learners are selected for participation based upon their demonstrated competence within the following 8 areas: (i) understanding of entrepreneurship as a career choice; (ii) understanding of importance of business ownership in a market-driven economy; (iii) understanding of financial, human and social capital requirements in operating a business; (iv) ability to determine entrepreneurial opportunities, according to industry, location, etc; (v) knowledge of fundamental business methods such as planning, financing, accounting and managing; (vi) skill in determining scope of potential consumer markets and customer needs; (vii) leadership role within extra-mural entrepreneurship activity; (viii) a workable start-up producing some income. The selected 8 learners who won from 9 provinces are invited to compete within a 3 day event that went as follows up to now for illustration purposes: on arrival participants from provinces got into 9 teams. Each participant received 1,000 Simas YES Simama Rantas own monetary system with 1 Sima equalling the value of 1 South African Rand. Thus each team had access to 8,000 Simas, depending on individual team members willingness to share his or her money with the team. Members from different teams could easily distinguish each other through different colour dots that they wore on their name tags. On the first evening, the teams had to compete with each other in an auction where 9 lots or groupings of equipment with consumables were presented to them. YES members received at arrival, inventories of the lots as part of their registration packs. These lots were organised by EWET around a specific business idea although the idea as such was not announced. Participant teams also out-bid each other for a specific site for the location of their venture. The auction coincided with tremendous excitement and the teams started to jell with different members assuming different responsibilities and roles.

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The next day, the teams had the morning to set-up their businesses in order to start trading after lunch, within the marquee tent. Business development support services was available to participants at a fee and a bank, if they needed such assistance. Businesses initiated consisted of: Advertisers.com; Ocean Basket; Radical Beauty Saloon; African Foot Print; Siyazibonisa Cinema & Photo shoots; Simma Pops; Excellent Coffee Caf Services; E-zone radio station and Team 2. When the businesses started to operate on the afternoon of the second day, around 110,000 Simas were in circulation. With-drawls and deposits kept the bank up to date on the financial status of each venture. Original signage by the business ventures made an impression on customers that consisted of members from other ventures as well as adjudicators, teachers, visitors, donor representatives, and others. Ventures that ran out of consumables were able to replenish their stock through purchasing from wholesale that was provided for. YES members amazed observers with their creativity and in dealing with their group dynamics for coming-up with pricing strategies, smoothing their production lines where relevant, negotiating deals between businesses, etc. Everybody experienced the excitement of the market place. Business operations continued until lunch of the next (third) day. The afternoon saw the liquidation of the ventures with tough negotiations with the bank to determine a reasonable prize for their stock, equipment as well as for the site that they bought at the auction. All monies were deposited at the bank to enable the bank to determine which businesses ended up with the biggest balance. The winning businesses were announced on the evening of the third day. YES Simama Ranta represents a simulation utilised as an assessment centre where each of the individual participants are continuously assessed by business people and by their peers. The ratings received during each of the sessions are consolidated to rank all participating learners from first place downwards. Exceptional entrepreneurial talent had been unearthed amongst these young people during past YES Simama Rantas, which lead to career opportunities offered to them.