Mentoring as a support intervention for the entrepreneurs of Peninsula Technikon's Technology Enterprise Centre

Abstract

By international standards South Africa's unemployment rate and poverty levels are extremely high. Currently the unemployment rate is approximately 30% (Business Day, 28 March 2002) or in the region of 40% if those who are not actively seeking work are included. Owing to the high unemployment rate, the informal sector has experienced a growth spurt. Unfortunately, due to a lack of entrepreneurial competencies, South Africa's start-up businesses also have a lower survival rate compared to their international counterparts. Technology Enterprise Centres (TECs) were created by the Technical and Business Initiative in South Africa (TABEISA), a consortium of six South African and British institutions established in 1994. The TEC has developed a mentoring programme and aims to implement it in the near future. As part of a wide assortment of assistance programmes, mentoring is the latest methodology that is being promoted by the private and public sector as a valuable developmental tool for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to examine mentoring as an important resource in extending the business life-cycle of the entrepreneurs of Peninsula Technikon' s TEC. The research reviews the mentoring literature and covers aspects such as the characteristics that mentors should have, the role of mentors, types of mentoring programmes, setting up a mentoring programme, current mentoring programmes, implementing a mentoring programme, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of mentoring. The survey concentrated on identifying the mentoring requirements of the businesses. The findings highlight the need for a mentoring support programme to help entrepreneurs develop faster, therefore smoothing the transition process from one business stage to another. The study concludes by stressing the need for an efficiently run formal mentoring process, coupled with other developmental programmes.