Opening Doors, A New Documentary For South African Entrepreneurs

There are some scary stats surrounding starting your own business. 4 out 10 businesses don’t last a year. 3 more will close by the end of the second. Only 1 will celebrate a 5^th birthday.

What makes so many fail? What makes that 1 business out of 10 keep its doors open?

A new initiative aimed at inspiring and challenging South Africa’s entrepreneurs begins on Tuesday next week. Called Opening Doors, the initiative is a platform for the dreamers, the visionaries, the builders and the creators in our great country.  Opening Doors will provide support, mentorship, guidance and solutions to business owners across South Africa.

Starting with a documentary screening at Ster-Kinekor theatres nationwide at 8:30pm on 29 March 2011, Opening Doors intends to reach the widest audience possible.

Research has shown that small businesses have moved from employing 18% of the South African employable population in 1998 to more than 60% today, supporting the notion that SMEs are vital to the  future of South Africa’s economy and are also strategically important with regard to  job creation initiatives.

Absa research has also identified five attributes that are key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. The five stories featured in the documentary show how these attributes – curiosity, risk appetite, energy, adaptability and a sense of mission – contribute to a successful business and explore the expressed and unexpressed needs of entrepreneurs. Four business heavyweights help to bring these points across in Opening Doors:

·       Nick Binedell (Head of the Gordon Institute of Business Science) who offers a global perspective on SMEs;

·       Bruce Whitfield (Radio / TV Business Commentator) who speaks about the a South African perspective;

·       Bobby Malabie (Chief Executive of Absa Business Bank) who addresses  the role of financial institutions; and,

·       Nico Jacobs (Head of Absa Small Business) who discusses what makes a successful entrepreneur.

In Opening Doors, Malabie states that Absa Small Business supports close on 500 000 small businesses through both financial and non-financial initiatives and has provided R330m to start-ups over the past three years. “However, we believe that financial support is not the main challenge facing SMEs. For this reason, non-financial business initiatives have been developed,” says Malabie.

Who should attend the Opening Doors documentary?

The documentary, which is approximately an hour long, is essential viewing for any individuals in South Africa who consider themselves entrepreneurs. Tickets are R100 and are available at Ster-Kinekor.com or by phone Ticketline at 082 1 6789.

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