ISPA helps SA’s next wave of BEE Internet entrepreneurs to build their skills

30 June 2009

The Internet Service Providers Association of SA (ISPA) has announced that 12 aspiring entrepreneurs have completed an ISPA-run pilot training course aimed at equipping budding Internet professionals with the knowledge they need to start and run an Internet business.

80% of the aspiring entrepreneurs who completed the course were black economic empowerment (BEE) candidates. The course encompassed aspects of running an Internet business such as budgeting, sales and marketing, negotiating with upstream and other suppliers, legal and regulatory concerns as well as technology issues.

The free training course was presented by Avuxeni, who has delivered ISPA’s Teachers Training courses, as well as some guest lecturers from ISPA. By the end of the course, most candidates had completed a full business plan for their chosen market and were nearly ready to open their businesses. This initial course was a pilot programme aimed at gauging the need for such a training course in South Africa.

Says William Stucke at ISPA: “We are pleased with the success of this training course, with the candidates that attended indicating that the content was extremely useful to them. We are now looking to make this course a part of our regular calendar of events and to extend it to other regions of South Africa, including Cape Town.

“We are especially happy to be helping BEE and women-owned Internet businesses to make their mark. South Africa needs the sort of services and competition that these entrepreneurs can bring to the market across roles ranging from access providers and network operators to wireless ISPs, hosting providers, support providers, and Internet cafés.”