Category: Events

Categories
art creative economy Events Gallery MOMO

The Making of an African Master: on at Gallery Momo Cape Town

Gallery MOMO is proud to present a group exhibition featuring George Pemba, Dumile Feni, George Hallett, and Leonard Matsoso. Each of these artists has been labelled a “master” in his own regard. But what makes a master’s work? Is it the craftsman’s skill? Is it the political moment surrounding the oeuvre? Must it be avant-garde, socially and formally? Must it be made at the height of an artist’s successful career, or does mastery spawn from suffering? Is the cultural significance of a work determined by the public, or by galleries, museums, and auction houses? If the space between an object and an art object is difficult to determine, the space between an artist and a historically significant artist is all the more elusive.

The works in this show meet at a unique nexus of past and present. On the one hand, they are archival documents. The works of Dumile or Pemba belong to a specific historical context. Their works and biographies speak to issues of oppression, censorship, destitution, and exile in the context of the apartheid regime. On the other hand, the images and messages in these works continue to resonate with contemporary audiences. Not only do they speak to broader issues of representation, corporeality, materiality, and aesthetics, but these works shed light on social and political conditions that might not look so distant from the so-called past.

Typically, the role of the gallery in the art world is to advocate for the new, the up-and-coming, and the never-before-seen. The curation of artwork twenty years old or older normally falls under the jurisdiction of large-scale museums. However, This unique retrospective will cover over forty years of work by South African artists, some of which has never been displayed outside private collections. Join us for a reexamination of these deeply accomplished bodies of work, as well as an inquiry into the ways in which past masters return to make our present understandings of art more legible.

For more information, please contact Keely at:
keely@gallerymomo.com | +27 (21) 424 5150

Author: Gallery Momo

Categories
competition economic development economic freedom economic policy enterprise development entrepreneurship Events Featured finance funding innovation insights inspiration Investment media Opportunities public policy social enterprise start-ups wealth youth entrepreneurship

Social Enterprise Masterclass Challenges Delegates to Build Sustainable Organisations

The concept of social enterprise has gone mainstream over the past few years, reflecting a desire for new ways to create economic value in a manner that delivers measurable social impact. This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week kicked off on 10 November at the continent’s largest start-up campus, 22 on Sloane in Bryanston. On Wednesday 15 November, the venue hosted masterclasses on various aspects of entrepreneurship such as social entrepreneurship, funding strategies for small business, purpose-driven enterprise, as well as inclusive growth.

The first session, Social Enterprise and Impact Investment, kicked off with Mbali Zamisa, enterprise Programme Coordinator of the South African Breweries Foundation talking about various SAB Foundation enterprises that seek to fund various small businesses. These include the Tholana Enterprise, which seeks to empower marginalised groups such as women, youth and rural business.

The room comprised mostly of determined and engaged entrepreneurs whose business’ life span ranged from one to five years old. Rudzani Mulaudzi from Grades Match and Nneile Nkholise from Likoebe Innovation Consultants spoke about impact investment and measurement.

No let-down was The Disruptors author Kerryn Krige’s talk on the complexities and contradictions of social entrepreneurship and especially what it really is. Her talk featured many salient questions and statements that served as food for thought for entrepreneurs:

  • How am I going build stability in this organization?
  • Legitimacy and authenticity are inextricably linked
  • Funding social value in a sustainable way
  • Social enterprise blends income methods which enables you to have control over the types of income you bring in
  • It’s not about how much money you get!

 

Other important take-aways were about were remembering that ‘‘your story is more important than your numbers but use numbers to back up your stories (“finance people aren’t as stupid as they look!”), and the importance of doing homework on your investor, needing your investor to offer more than just money, and enhancing your own ‘‘investability’’.

The Future of Sustainable Job Creation talk with Managing Director Zanele Luvuno of Transcend Talent Management explored the ways in which policy creation can aid job creation and exposed challenges with implementing BEE legislation. The objective was to invite professionals to see beyond corporate life and tap into research and business development facilities to pursue small business development.

The last session on Integrating the Township and Informal economy by Sifiso Moyo was a dialogical sitting that had all delegates debating on the ways in which the township could benefit more from entrepreneurial ventures. Moyo asked critical questions that involved historical facts, relevant statistics and real-life case studies to observe and analyse successes and failures of a few entrepreneurial ventures in the township. The theme of the Township Renaissance was an indispensable topic that pushed the entrepreneurs, many who are from the township, to shift mentality and think of innovative ways of serving their communities with the intention of creating a strong township eco-system in which the rand would circulate numerous times and not only once in a context where R2.2 billion rand is generated out of township economy annually. This challenge presented the opportunity for township entrepreneurs to become real and legitimate competitors with big competitors and franchises.

Global Entrepreneurship Week endeavours to host more events in which more entrepreneurs will actively and consciously engage with like-minded peers who have succeeded such as Vusi Thembekwayo, who graced this week’s first event. The Masterclasses were informative, thought-provoking, and mostly motivating to the passionate and driven young youth who came to learn from the best in the business.

Written by: Gabaza Tiba (Makhaya Advisory)

Categories
achievement competition creative economy economic development education enterprise development entrepreneurship Events Featured finance funding Notices Opportunities small business

Polishing your business pitch

Engen Petroleum and Nedbank have partnered with Raizcorp to bring the ENGEN Pitch & Polish programme to cities and towns across South Africa, for the eighth time. The programme helps to educate and grow entrepreneurs.  It teaches entrepreneurs how to polish their business pitch in order to obtain funding.

What type of Pitcher are you?

 

Pitching your business is an essential skill to master in order to grow your business. And, if you want to grow your business, you must be able to pitch it successfully. The way you say things is as important as what you actually say – and could mean the difference between attaining the investment needed – or being turned away. No matter the result, every opportunity to pitch is an opportunity to get better!

 

Now in their eighth year of listening to entrepreneurial pitches, ENGEN Pitch & Polish, in association with Engen Petroleum, Nedbank and Raizcorp, have identified six distinct pitching types. Which one are you?

 

The first three types fall into the category of ‘content pitchers’. These types are either getting it wrong – or right – from a content point of view.

 

The Investor-Ready Pitcher

  • You are the ideal pitcher! Your business case is clear with a defined product or service, which is ready to be taken to customers.
  • You have done your market research and can prove that people want what you are offering.
  • Your sums add up and you can demonstrate a clear Return on Investment (ROI).

 

The Salesman

  • Your pitch is purely sales-focused, with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
  • Investors want to see the real you and understand your business – they are far more interested in you, than your product or service.
  • Be real and be honest.

 

The Technician

  • Technicians only want to speak about the finer details of their product or service. They use too much jargon and technical terminology. The result is that the investors’ attention is lost as they stop listening.
  • Investors need the whole picture to make the ultimate decision.
  • Focus your pitch on how your business is going to make money.

 

The next three types fall into the category of ‘style pitchers’. These types are, unfortunately, getting it wrong from a style point of view! When you are confident in what you are saying, you will come across as authentic, credible and authoritative in your field.

 

The Floor-Gazing Dancer

  • These pitchers are so nervous they can’t look the investor in the eye. Instead, they stare at the floor and tend to move from side to side.
  • This pitch is hard work for an investor as the movement is dizzying and lack of eye-contact alienating.
  • Resolve to make a concerted effort to stand straight and look people in the eyes.

 

The Mumbler

  • The mumbler speaks incoherently and softly.
  • If investors cannot hear your pitch, they aren’t going to invest in your business.
  • Practice is key to gaining confidence in yourself and what you are saying. Record your pitch and listen to yourself. Become aware of your fillers and replace them with pauses.

 

The Racing Driver

  • You speak so fast that it is difficult to grasp your business offering and model.
  • This can intrigue an investor if spoken with confidence. However, it often leads to an ineffective pitch.
  • Refine your pitch. Shorten it and select places to breathe and connect with the investors. Plan your pauses. Enunciate clearly.

 

No matter the content, or style, of your pitch, a good pitch tells a story and a good story needs refining and rehearsal. As Alan Shannon, head of Nedbank Relationship Banking Sales, says “anything that distracts the audience from your message makes the message less effective.” To learn how to hook your audience, by creating your best business pitch, come to the ENGEN Pitch & Polish workshop and competition.

Author: Engen Pitch and Polish

 

For a list of this year’s workshops, and to experience the magic of ENGEN Pitch & Polish for yourself, visit www.pitchandpolish.com.

Categories
art Events Featured Gallery MOMO Notices

SIMULACRUM Exhibition Opening

Categories
entrepreneurship Events innovation

KASI Insight finalists at 2017 World Angel Investment Summit Awards for ‘Most Promising Startup’

This years finalists in The Most Promising Startup category at the World Angel Investment Summit awards are KASI Insight marketing researchers who are pioneering what they call ”grassroots market research”, which ”provides reliable consumer data and actionable insights from Africa in 2 weeks”.

Since 2015, KASI Insight have been using major research hubs to understand and reach burgeoning African consumer segments and have penetrated various fields such as ” mobile banking, shopping habits, ad campaign testing, brand tracking, gap analysis, opinion polling, sensitivity and satisfaction, product usage, business concept validation, lending, and mobile app usage in the biggest countries in Africa”.

With over four million responses, KASI Insight continues to ”disrupt the African market research industry” and looks forward to empowering more business leaders and entrepreneurs looking to tap into the fast-growing markets of Africa.

For more information visit: https://www.kasiinsight.com/about