The Thousand Rand Challenge was an annual competition Whythawk created that invited entrepreneurs to submit ideas for businesses that would require only R 1,000 of start-up capital. Winners received cash and four months of business support. The purpose of these and other ideas is to illustrate that clarity of thinking is worth far more than a large capital base.
The first competition was run jointly with Barrie Terreblanche of Big News in 2000 and produced five winners. The competition was run three times after that with financial support from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
In 2004 two larger events were held for the launch of the RED Doors small business support centres program in Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain based on the Thousand Rand Challenge.
In 2005 the Provincial Government of the Western Cape announced the creation of the 1000 x 1000 Project in which 1,000 individuals would be given the opportunity to start a business for R 1,000 each.
Our solution
This was a complex project. Whythawk acted as central facilitator, trainer, adminstrator and project manager. Ten consulting firms were contracted, each required to teach a total of 200 mentors selected from disadvantaged communities. Their general level of education was weak, and months of training would normally have been required to ensure a quality support program.
Unfortunately, we were on a political timetable, and far too much was rushed in the wrong places, and delayed elsewhere.
Whythawk led training sessions and public outreach across the Western Cape, guiding consultants and mentors, and championing the process. We also facilitated a transfer of the project into the RED Door program to ensure long-term support for entrepreneurs, and work opportunities for the mentors.
Outcomes
Of the thousand expected business plans, some 818 were ultimately finalised. Of these, 672 were approved while 515 have been financed. A wiki was set up centralising all business plans to create a set of generic architypes that could be reused by any entrepreneur. The textbooks and training materials were released under open-licence (and available for download on this page).
