The bridge between readiness and results
By Sarah Mthintso, Executive Director, SAB Foundation
Over the past year, one lesson has become increasingly clear to me: South Africa is not short of entrepreneurial talent or innovative ideas. Every day, we encounter entrepreneurs and social innovators who are solving real challenges, creating jobs and building businesses that have the potential to transform communities.
At the SAB Foundation, we have the privilege of working alongside many of these entrepreneurs and innovators at different stages of their journey. This gives us a unique perspective on both what enables success and what continues to hold promising businesses back.
Through this monthly column, I hope to share some of those insights and contribute to the broader conversation on strengthening entrepreneurship and innovation in South Africa.
One observation stands out above all others.
Across government, business and the development sector, significant investment is being made to prepare entrepreneurs for success. Businesses receive funding, mentorship, training and technical support. Social innovators are supported to develop and validate solutions that address some of our country’s most pressing challenges.
These investments matter. They build stronger businesses, more capable entrepreneurs and more credible innovations.
But readiness alone does not guarantee results.
A business may become investment-ready without securing customers. An entrepreneur may complete a support programme yet still struggle to access markets. A social innovation may prove its value but fail to find institutions willing to adopt it at scale.
Our experience at the SAB Foundation consistently shows that sustainable growth happens when capability is matched with opportunity. Markets create demand. Finance enables expansion. Procurement opens commercial pathways. Strong partnerships help innovative solutions reach the people and institutions they are designed to serve.
Perhaps this is the question we should increasingly ask of ourselves: not only how many entrepreneurs we support, but what happens after the support ends. Are businesses growing? Are jobs being sustained? Are innovations reaching the communities they were designed to serve?
South Africa has no shortage of ambition or ideas. The opportunity before us is to ensure that our collective efforts do more than prepare entrepreneurs—we must also help them grow.
That requires government, corporates, investors, funders and enterprise support organisations to work together in connecting readiness with opportunity.
Because when preparation is matched with access, entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses, innovators create lasting impact, and communities thrive.
I look forward to using this column to share lessons from our work at the SAB Foundation and to contribute to the conversations that will shape a more inclusive and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem