GLOBALLY the perennial battle to alleviate poverty is an enduring one and in this respect South Africa is no exception. According to Statistics SA almost half of the adult population in our country is living below the upper-bound poverty line. While the battle against poverty has been a difficult one, the recent Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, especially in terms of poverty rates, the economy, health, education and employment prospects.
In addition to the pandemic, the country is also in its worst economic recession in 100 years. South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 32.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from 32.5 percent in the previous period (Trading Economics -2021). Stats SA also confirms the official unemployment rate among youth (15-34 years) was 46.3% in Quarter 1 2021. Millions are at risk of losing their livelihoods.
The combined effects of the pandemic and economic recession may not only present a temporary shock, but have lasting implications for poverty rates in South Africa through its effects on people’s health, education, and employment prospects. Actions being taken to combat South African poverty and Covid-19 have proven that, with new options and renewed commitments, there is still much that can be done to alleviate poverty.
Indeed, poverty reduction has become a critical issue for almost all sectors of society. Guided by this new reality, entrepreneurship and innovation, especially through small business development has been touted as a significant part of the solution to poverty reduction. It is now an established fact that entrepreneurship and innovation generate the majority of decent and sustainable jobs and contribute significantly to economic growth, thus enabling a large portion of the population to move out of poverty.
Sadly though, until recently, business education has adopted a theoretical and laissez-faire approach to this proposition and has been lackadaisical in its attitude toward making entrepreneurship and innovation a catalyst for action. In essence business education has paid lip service to the creation of an empowering and inclusive entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem that can genuinely contribute to job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation.
To be truly authentic and relevant in a world that is riddled with myriad problems and challenges such as poverty and inequality, the purveyors of business education have to forge inclusive strategic partnerships with all stakeholders, especially local communities that host them.
For example, Regent Business School (RBS) besides forging close ties with all its stakeholder communities through its business education, research and outreach programmes has held steadfast to its mission and made considerable investments to create an entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem to support the many facets of small business development for poverty and unemployment alleviation.
As part of this initiative, RBS has established Regent Enterprise Development Hub (redHUB), an accelerator which has leveraged the institution’s iLeadLABs or national technology hubs and harnessed its academic, research and outreach intellectual property to champion entrepreneurial development. The redHUB’s mission is to provide impactful education, training and mentorship for aspirant and creative entrepreneurs by nurturing their disruptive and innovative skills using resilient and anti-fragile strategies.
Professor Shaikh is an academic and researcher and managing director of Regent Business School. He writes in his personal capacity.
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ABOUT REGENT BUSINESS SCHOOL:
REGENT is a Private Higher Education Institution with their headquarters located in the heart of the central business district and the industrial hub of Durban, with learning centres located in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, East London and Eswatini (in Manzini and Mbabane).
RBS is deeply embedded as a premier private higher education provider in Africa which strives to deliver quality academic programmes that meet recognised academic standards to its students. It does this through ensuring that all REGENT’s programmes are developed internally by its professional team, in consultation with experts from business, and leading academics. The content of programmes is kept relevant and annually reviewed to ensure currency with South African law and International trends.
RBS has developed a series of programmes that are designed to provide individuals and organisations with the management competencies and critical skills necessary to build and sustain competitive advantages in a rapidly changing and complex business environment.
RBS’s expertise has evolved through continuous research and development undertaken in delivering a range of local and international business and management education programmes. REGENT is a proud member of the Honoris United University network.
Vision
To be a leading provider of entrepreneurial, business and management education and to develop business leaders through research and innovation.
Mission
To provide accessible, affordable, and quality entrepreneurial, business and management education, responsive to the critical needs of South Africa and the African continent within the context of a dynamic global environment.
