The promotion of entrepreneurship, transformation and contributing to socio-economic development has always been a priority for Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). On 17 and 18 March 2021, the Idea Gym held a community entrepreneurship workshop where the community of Heidedal gathered at Angels funeral parlour hall to learn and acquire new skills necessary to grow their business or turn their ideas into viable businesses.

To achieve this, the CUT team used the fun and educational game- “the Value-E-Game”, an educational game developed to assist entrepreneurs who have existing businesses but do not have the necessary entrepreneurial skills and aspiring entrepreneurs who have business ideas but don’t know how to take it off the ground.

“The main objective of the game is to assist and teach aspiring entrepreneurs about the basic entrepreneurial skills. It consists of seven different levels and each level focuses on a specific aspect of entrepreneurship such as marketing, accounting, sustainability, production etc. Each one of the games takes an hour and a half to complete with a specific outcome for the player. At the end of each game, players should then understand the basic principle of what we are trying to convey through the activity,” said Mr Marnus van Zyl, Value-E-game facilitator.

Prof. Johan van Zyl, Senior Researcher: Enterprise Studies, gave a presentation on the Entrepreneurial Development Program. He said that the purpose of the program is to get entrepreneurs who either have ideas or small startup business and teach them about attracting their target market, how to market their product and how to think about value-adding around the product. “It is all about doing business in a proper way for them to let the business grow. What we are doing is not based on a lot of theory but on practical things that they can apply to their business. The entire program content is for them to be able to compile a business plan. I do all the different components of the business plan and show them how to put it together so that they have the final business plan.”

Ms. Azalia Daya, business owner within the community said that at first, they did not really understand what the workshop was about “but as it progressed, it was mind blowing.” She said that the workshop is something positive and can benefit the community more. “The aftereffects of this workshop will definitely benefit our community even long after the CUT team is gone. I feel that the scheduled time was not enough, and they should consider hosting it for a week at a time and not two days. My business has been stagnant for so long and 15 min into the session, I am inspired to pick up from where I left off and carry on. The information is really going to help me improve and get my business off the ground again. What makes this program unique is that we will always be in touch with Prof. van Zyl and team because most of the time, people who come here conduct workshops and disappear on us when we need assistance. At least with this one we know it is linked to CUT so we can always go back if we need any information or assistance.”

Ms Mellisza Najoe, a small-scale vegetable gardener who plants, packages, and sells spinach, chili jalapenos, oregano, peppers, and kale said that the sessions were very beneficial to her and her business and wishes that it can be scheduled more often. “It is so sad that this is our last day. I really enjoyed this fulfilling and informative session, and I believe with the skills and information acquired here today, I will be able to expand my business and take it further. We are grateful to Prof. Van Zyl, the idea gym and CUT for coming out to help us. We really needed this and I think it should be done more often as the games are not only fun but educational and helpful for us as entrepreneurs.”

Caption

Mr Marnus van Zyl (Middle) assisting and explaining to the ladies how to play the value-e-game. From left:  Angelique Stasie, Beveley, Venessa Pretorious and Milisza Najoe.