The BIG Questions?

After launching the South African Startup Index we received many calls and request to explain the purpose of the index. What is it all about? Why do we need one? How will it make a difference for local entrepreneurs?

I spoke to Tony Blewitt on the Entrepreneurs' Network on two occasions to unpack what SASI is all about and where it fits into the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Over the next few weeks we will cover this in detail and unpack some of the different components of the ecosystem so make sure you tune in to Tony's show at 19h00 each Monday. In the last interview we spoke about Global Entrepreneurship Week and what I did not mention on the show was why we chose to launch SASI during GEW. The main theme behind GEW is "Unleash your ideas!" and this is exactly what we want to inspire South African entrepreneurs to do! They must unleash their ideas onto the global stage and become active global citizens with deep African roots. SASI hope to create a voice for these ideas and facilitate a platform that will showcase local ideas on the global stage. Our long term goal is more than just creating awareness and visibility and include a commitment to provide an international benchmark for investors, academia and policy makers that can be used to make decisions about the South African startup businesses, providing entrepreneurial insights.

We were not the only entrepreneurship support organisation to launch here in SA during GEW. The Aspen Institute launched the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) a foundation that will focus on providing support to African businesses that can employ between 200 - 2000 people. Founding members include some big names such as the Aspen Institute, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Endeavor , Google.org, to name but a few. ANDE positioned itself as an "emerging network of entrepreneurial leaders, foundations and investors who will collaborate...". The BIG takeout for us and SASI is that collaborative capital is a common ingredient and our local collaboration with Business Report , SACVA and Raizcorp is committed to build a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem in SA.

Why do we need a Startup Index? These were some of the questions we tried to unpack with Justice Ramohlola on the Super Fantastic Breakfast Show recently. We need it to instill global awareness in South African entrepreneurs, we need it to inspire creative thinking and innovation that can facilitate local economic development and growth all through a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem. An ecosystem that provides more than just financial support, but also skills, experience, business acumen and mentorship that can assist with increasing our startup survival rate.

We chatted to Simon Brown on JSE Direct about how SASI hopes to make a difference for local entrepreneurs. Quite simply it should serve as training grounds for migrating or graduating to formal financial markets such as the Altx, by exposing entrepreneurs to the environment of providing transparent and accurate information about their business, products and services. This is by far the most ambitious goal for SASI, but perhaps the most important one. It will be the critical yardstick if we really hope to make a difference and create a robust and healthy investor pipeline that will deliver high economic impact in South Africa.

We value your comments and feedback, so visit us and unleash your ideas!

SASI - Where from here?

The launch of the South African Start-up Index was well received and many journalist that attended the event at Wits Business School was very excited about the concept. Many of the questions was around how SA entrepreneurs can get access to the index and the requirements for listing on the index. Others were about data integrity and how entrepreneurs will be able to influence some of the criteria to make themselves look good. These are all relevant questions and in writing this piece I hope to perhaps provide more clarity on these issues.

The first point is to understand that SASI is an "awareness" index and that it is designed to draw attention to South African companies that have the potential to make it on the global stage. Global significance in terms of services and products is a critical component of having a listing on SASI as our aim is to provide a global benchmark similar to the The Bay Startup Index in the US and the UK Telegraph Growth Company Index in the UK. Secondly, the index service provider, YouNoodle, have a team of research analyst that verify all information supplied by entrepreneurs before a listing is granted. This includes educational background and qualifications, finance secured if any, and the stage of the business in terms growth. In addition to this, YouNoodle has developed an algorithm that tracks publicly available data from media sources and the internet to rank the reaction to the company's products and services. All these components make up a YouNoodle Score which provides the index value for each company.

SASI's biggest goal is to create a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem in South Africa that facilitates growth and development for local entrepreneurs. This is why we follow a collaboration approach to allow for wide consultation with the public and private sector to create a community that share collaborative capital to get access to skills, finance and markets through the activities in the ecosystem. Essentially, we hope to reinforce the fact that we all have a role to play to support local entrepreneurs so they are inspired to think BIG and unleash their potential.

In the next few months we hope to secure relationships with various partners and institutions that will allow us to strengthen the components of the South African entrepreneurship ecosystem. SASI will be employed as a platform to facilitate ongoing awareness about the local start-up community through a global benchmark that measures realtime trends and give entrepreneurs a voice beyond their current market.

SASi Launch 16 November

The South African Start-up Index (SASI) will launch on Monday 16 November 2009 with a press briefing scheduled at Wits Business School(WBS). SASI is a collaboration between academia, industry and government to create a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem in South Africa. Current partners include WBS, South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), Raizcorp and Business Report who will serve as the official media partner.

SASI will index start-up companies in South Africa for online and print publication based on a YouNoodle Score. A YouNoodle Score is the first real-time and scientific measurement of private company progress, based on publicly-available data and will update daily. One of SASI’s main objectives is to create awareness in the market place around innovative South African start-up companies with the potential to make it on the global stage. SASI will be the first emerging market to get this index following successful rollout in the US and in Europe through various partnerships including the San Francisco Chronicle and the UK Telegraph.