Industry intelligence
One of the biggest issues plaguing entrepreneurial development in rural
and peri-urban areas, is the lack of requisite skills in those regions, as well
as the cost of providing skills training in such far-flung corners of the
country. As a result, many entrepreneurial programmes based in these areas
are offered by inadequate providers who have neither the skills nor the
experience to provide an effective and ongoing solution.
“We have had huge demand from the mining sector to solve this
problem because of the deluge of failed skills programmes that are ill-
conceived and badly executed across the country,” says Allon Raiz, CEO
of Raizcorp.
Raizcorp’s Beacon model has been developed to address this demand.
Ironically, the model was not originally designed by Raizcorp for the
South African context, but rather for rural Tanzania where a lack of skills
has been a challenge to address because of distances and access issues.
Raizcorp was commissioned to design a model for a South African mining
operation in deep rural Venda as a way of developing potential local
suppliers, as well as to support the general entrepreneurial community in
the region.
“We were pleased that only a few minor modifications to our Tanzanian
model were required to make this model work in South Africa,” says Raiz.
Launched in South Africa in 2017, the Beacon model works efficiently
and economically by using a blended solution of some technology, local
expertise, and support from Raizcorp’s head office in Johannesburg.
Raizcorp is in the process of rolling out numerous other Beacon models
with other mining companies and is in discussion with mining groups that
experience challenges in effectively delivering social labour plan projects in
remote areas.
Allon Raiz, CEO of Raizcorp.
New model a beacon for mining