South Africa has the lowest entrepreneurial activity in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). SA also has the dubious honour of being the only country in Africa to have a total entrepreneurial activity rate below 10%.
That's not to say South Africans are not innovative, but there are many factors preventing great ideas from becoming functional businesses. This is a problem Seed Engine hopes to address.
Seed Engine is a new business accelerator that identifies local start-ups that have the potential to become profitable businesses. It takes them through an intensive 13-week course that trains them in the basics of business, provides a space to work and some seed capital, and imposes rigid structures and deadlines to ensure the ideas blossom into something tangible.
An accelerator is very different from an "incubator", says Seed Engine founder, CEO and "chief disruptor" Marc Elias. Incubators traditionally host ventures for very short periods of time, charge them rent for their space, and do not provide much-needed start-up capital. Elias also feels the nature of start-ups does not fit with the local management-heavy philosophy of incubation. Start-ups need the freedom to be dynamic, he says.
"We're looking for the next Facebook," he says. "You're not going to find that in an incubator in SA."
Seed Engine does not charge fees to the start-ups that enter the programme; rather, it takes a standard 20% equity stake in the businesses. In exchange, it provides R100 000 seed capital, one-on-one access to business coaches, and a number of formal sessions that include meetings with the executive board to ensure their businesses are on track.
The programme gives the start-ups deadlines to prove they can make money out of their businesses. At the end of the programme, Seed Engine hosts a demo day. The event is attended by venture capitalists and angel investors and gives them an opportunity to invest in the businesses.
"We hope to give SA the start-up wins that we haven't seen over the last few years," says Elias.
ITWeb attended the first demo day, which took place at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, in Johannesburg, on Friday, 3 May.
ITWeb journalists have profiled the first "graduates" from the programme in a series of articles.
They are (in no particular order):
ChowHub
The creators of ChowHub describe this venture as an "online food court" that uses location-based services to connect restaurants with "hungry people". Users can search for nearby eating places and order online directly from restaurants.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.chowhub.co.za
Follow on Twitter: @chowbubsa
MiName
MiName's mission is to do away with "cold calling". It provides a platform where users can select products and services they wish to be contacted by. In exchange, the users receive a financial reward.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.miname.co.za
Follow on Twitter: @minamesa
OnQ Systems
OnQ is a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system that can be set up on commercially available smartphones and tablets, giving even the smallest restaurant access to advanced and secure sales systems.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.onqsystems.com
Follow on Twitter: @onqsystems
After-Class
After-Class aims to gamify education by connecting teachers, tutors and students online. Students can earn "points" by helping each other, uploading notes or taking tests. These points can be spent on education resources.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.after-class.co.za
Follow on Twitter: @afterclasscoza
Zehoo
Zehoo is an app that collects documents from e-mail and cloud storage and lets the user search and organise them in one place. It also performs optical character recognition (OCR) on faxes, photographs and PDFs, allowing for deep search and text editing.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.zehoo.me
Follow on Twitter: @zehoome
Daily Homes
Daily Homes is an online property portal showcasing affordable accommodation (rent below R6 000, purchase below R1 million). It is accessible through a Web site, mobisite, range of apps and USSD. When users sign up using USSD, they will receive SMSes when new homes are listed.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.dailyhomes.co.za
Follow on Twitter: @dailyhomessa
IntelliCred
IntelliCred offers brand protection for businesses. It provides a verification management system (VMS) that converts a company's logo into a visible trust seal that cannot be copied. It also allows companies to register affiliates and revoke logo access with the touch of a button.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://intellicred.com/
Follow on Twitter: @IntelliCred
Cirqls.com
Cirqls is an online marketplace that aims to make e-commerce more secure by leveraging social connections. Users are encouraged to transact with friends, friends-of-friends and parties that have been recommended by friends and acquaintances. Untrustworthy buyers or sellers are easily discredited.
Read more about it here:
Visit the Web site here: http://www.cirqls.com
Follow on Twitter: @cirqlsdotcom
Seed Engine is already accepting proposals for the next iteration of the programme, which starts in June. South Africans with innovative tech ideas are encouraged to apply here.
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