Raizcorp’s Prosperators® internationally recognised as Centres of Excellence

Raizcorp has been named as the first Centre of Excellence in Africa by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI), the government-approved standards-setting body for small business development and support in the United Kingdom. 

Raizcorp’s ED programmes are in line with international best practices

This is an indication that Raizcorp’s small enterprise development systems, processes, and learning content have been assessed against international best practices. Raizcorp has been found to offer world-class support for the growth of small businesses and unsurpassed business and personal development for entrepreneurs. SFEDI conducts on-site audits and carries out on-going evaluations via a stringent quality management system on an annual basis.

Entrepreneurs accepted to join Raizcorp’s programmes can be assured that they are receiving cutting-edge, internationally recognised support, while the corporate sponsors of these entrepreneurs can be confident that an elite small business enterprise development operation is maximising the impact of their enterprise development investment.

Accredited, internationally recognised Entrepreneurial Guide training

In addition to this institutional recognition of Raizcorp, the Entrepreneurial Guiding courses offered by the Raizcorp Guiding Academy have also received SFEDI accreditation.

Linda Hart, Head of the Raizcorp Guiding Academy (RGA), said, “Raizcorp was named a Centre of Excellence on first application to SFEDI, which happens rarely. This outstanding achievement reflects the diligence with which Raizcorp continuously strives for excellence in our entrepreneurial development programmes. Significantly, Raizcorp’s exclusive four-year training programme for entrepreneurial guides, as offered by the RGA, has been accredited by SFEDI and is internationally recognised.”

For more information about SFEDI, the RGA, or to see the picture galleries of the various events, please visit our website: www.raizcorp.com.

Raizcorp set to Fast Forward the growth of 10 high-impact entrepreneurs

Only ten entrepreneurs have been selected out of an incredibly strong field of 276 applicants – for the chance to have their businesses’ growth increased dramatically by the unique Fast Forward programme offered by Raizcorp, one of the biggest entrepreneurial support organisations in Africa, in partnership with a major international financial organisation.

 

Rigorous selection process

The field was sifted through Raizcorp’s rigorous and gruelling eight-step selection process. The selection was made with the intention to allow the candidates to demonstrate convincingly the significant impact that top quality enterprise development programmes can have on entrepreneurs, their businesses, and communities.

 

The final candidates hung in there through the challenging process for good reason: the two-year Raizcorp Fast Forward programme is valued at R844 800 per business.

Management skills challenges facing start-ups in SA

Research[1] has shown that, while access to finance is a challenge for small businesses in South Africa, there are several pools of capital currently targeting the sector. A more pressing challenge is the lack of management capacity and skills in the start-up and early growth phases of small businesses.

The Fast Forward programme

For this reason, entrepreneurs selected to part take in the Fast Forward programme will receive a dedicated Raizcorp team to strategise and facilitate company growth over a two-year period: Raizcorp manages to increase the turnover and profitability of over 95% of the companies it partners with over such a timeframe. The support team for each entrepreneur comprises five guides, who will focus on strategy, finance, marketing, sales, and personal development. The programme further includes accredited learning and personal development modules.

 “It is exciting to be able to give ten outstanding, high-impact South African entrepreneurs a chance to grow from good to great. When we designed this programme, I asked the question, ‘What would have been the ideal environment for me when I started growing my business?’ Fast Forward is that programme!” says Allon Raiz, CEO of Raizcorp.

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[1] Research conducted by J.P. Morgan and Dalberg.

Rural entrepreneurs to REAP the benefits: Raizcorp programme enters its third year

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park has once again awarded Raizcorp the contract to roll out an extensive learning and guiding programme to entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs within the Park and surrounds. This is Raizcorp's third rollout of REAP – its proprietary Rural Enterprise Accelerator Programme.

Aspiring and existing business owners draw benefit

REAP’s target is both business owners, as well as people wishing to become business owners, living and working in rural communities. REAP is designed to ensure maximum local economic development with minimal infrastructural investment. In 2012, Raizcorp will run programmes for 40 beneficiaries from the first two rollouts, as well as 70 selected existing entrepreneurs. Raizcorp looks forward to once again being able to impact in the rural space!

Innovation to suit the educational context: narrative tools to enhance personal development

Having successfully rolled out two REAP programmes in the past, Raizcorp has recognised that, no matter how much business skills one throws at entrepreneurs (or potential entrepreneurs), until they 'know themselves' there is little chance that they will succeed in the ways they desire. For this reason, personal development continues to play a key role in all Raizcorp Learning. 

In the rural context, for the next REAP programme which starts at the end of July, Raizcorp will be piloting the use of narrative (story-telling) to empower participants to look carefully at what is preventing them from succeeding, and then to begin creating new 'future stories' of success and wealth. Because story-telling is a natural and trusted medium, within the rural environment, it is hoped that facilitation, through story-telling, will allow participants to open up more easily, and begin trusting not only themselves but their fellow entrepreneurs as well. In this way, they will be led to a space where they can begin to take individual and community responsibility for 'Prosperation'! 

Maintaining a focus on business skills

While the emphasis on personal development will be maintained throughout the programme, Raizcorp will not neglect to provide participants with all the business skills required to either start a business, or take existing businesses to the next level. With topics such as 'What's out there?', 'Who will buy from me?' and 'What makes you special', there is little doubt that Raizcorp's impact in St. Lucia will be felt!

Massive Demand for Entrepreneurial Self-help Book

Allon Raiz’s What to Do When You Want to Give Up Appears on Bestseller List Two Weeks After Launch

What to Do When You Want to Give Up, the second book by Allon Raiz, world-renowned South African entrepreneurship expert and CEO of Raizcorp, reached bestseller status within just two weeks of its launch on 05 June 2012, catapulting into the top 20 on the Neilsen Bookscan adult non-fiction bestseller list. These figures are based solely on individual sales out of bookstores, and exclude bulk orders received. 

 

Demand for the book has been overwhelming. “I’m ecstatic that so many people are responding so positively to the message of the book,” said Raiz, whose previous publications include the highly acclaimed Lose the Business Plan. “Research by Brad and Dunstreet shows that, of the small businesses that fail, 90% do so because their owners have decided to give up, not because the businesses were forced to close down. What to Do When You Want to Give Up speaks to all entrepreneurs– those who have failed, are failing, or are afraid of failing – and shows them that there are ways to push through the most difficult times they will face.”

The book’s powerful message of self-belief and the paradigm-shifting insights into decision-making that it reveals have received an endorsement from an unanticipated quarter: in an effort to promote an entrepreneurial culture among their staff, several large companies have already placed bulk orders of the book for internal distribution.

Trevor Waller, the book’s co-author, said, “Trying to decide if you should give up on your business – your dream, in fact – is emotionally devastating. This book is a tool to help entrepreneurs determine whether or not giving up on their business is truly the right decision. It shows entrepreneurs how to look at the salient issues unemotionally and gives them insight into identifying alternative and less drastic remedies for the challenges their businesses may be facing.”

What to Do When You Want to Give Up and Lose the Business Plan are both available at Exclusive Books and CNA stores nationally and online through Red Pepper Books. What to Do When You Want to Give Up recently topped the Red Pepper Books Weekly Top 10!

International recognition for South African entrepreneurship expert

Allon Raiz, CEO of Raizcorp and well-known expert on entrepreneurship and enterprise development, has been invited for the second year in a row to become a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Agenda Council (GAC) on Fostering Entrepreneurship. Each GAC in the WEF network has a limited invitation-only membership of between 15-20 global experts. Raiz was invited in recognition of his expertise and thought leadership in the field of entrepreneurship.

The WEF’s network of GACs make up the world’s foremost intellectual network, convening the most relevant and knowledgeable thought leaders from business, government, academia, and civil society to address key global issues.  Serving as a global brain trust, insights and recommendations from the Councils not only help inform the Forum's programming, including at their Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, but also set the direction for global, regional, and industry agendas.  

As a Council member, Raiz actively seeks to sensitise other key stakeholders about the specific needs of entrepreneurs in different developing economies, and thus helps to balance the Council’s perspective. Raiz said, “I am honoured once again to be invited to participate in this prestigious Council. I look forward to being able to voice the issues of South African and developing world entrepreneurs, who face daunting challenges, on a global stage. Being on the Council will also allow me to reap the benefits of being exposed first-hand to the thinking behind the latest international developments in entrepreneurship, and bring this knowledge back home.”

The GAC on Fostering Entrepreneurship is scheduled to meet at the WEF Summit on the Global Agenda, to be held in Dubai from 12-14 November 2012.