Ellen Leboko

Social Entrepreneur

Ellen Leboko lives in Sebokeng, near

Vereeniging. Her husband was

retrenched in 1994.

Since that time, she has educated her 5

children. 3 are teachers, one is an

electrician and the other, a beautician.

She has also trained more than 200 men &

women from all over southern Africa

(including Lesotho), in various aspects

of catering, including baking, flower-

arranging, cake-icing and running a

restaurant.

• Ms Leboko is one of the true heroes of the South African

economy who have decided to reject victimhood in favour

of taking responsibility for their own economic destinies.

• According to a number of researchers about 80% of them

fail within the first year.1

• Lack of basic business skills is the primary reason for this

dour picture.2

1. The Business Plan, Small Business development Centre, Bradle7y University, Peoria IL.

2. African Studies Quarterly: Causes of Small Business Failure in Uganda, Charles Tushabomwe-Kazooba

• According to Adam Smith1 and numerous others, job-

creation depends on the stimulation of entrepreneurship.

• 1.2m small businesses in California account for 80% of

the GDP of this 7th-largest economy in the world.2

• Ellen Leboko and the greater majority (>65%) of 160 000

graduates of the Micro-MBA basic business course have

gloriously defied the odds.

• With suitable state and private support, this success story

could be multiplied to play a significant role in poverty-

alleviation in Africa and emerging economies everywhere.

1. The Wealth of Nations & The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Adam Smith

2. SB-Cal, Small Business California, on-line e-zine.

• The Micro-MBA course is a learner-driven,

outcomes-based programme. It starts with 5 days of

classroom experience, during which learners work

through 8 simple workbooks. This is followed by

three months of pro-active mentoring meetings.

• The entire process focuses on the need for the

individual to take responsibility for themselves.

• They decide whether to attend the mentoring

meetings and they decide which aspects of the

course to use. They are not “baby-sat” in the guise

of mentoring!

• Our success with a broad spectrum of individuals

(over 160 thousand), many with minimal education

and/or training, has proved that almost anyone can be

taught to do enterprise in order to take responsibility

for their own economic destiny.

• This agrees with research done by UWC that Training

in entrepreneurial skills is highly possible.

– “Important research finding:

• Entrepreneurs can be trained!1”

• Many illiterate rural women have successfully

completed the Micro-MBA course by bringing

somebody who is literate with them to the course.

1. S A Entrepreneurship, Education & Training, Chapters 5-8. Prof D J Visser U.W.C.

• The Micro-MBA model is designed to be replicated:

we train the Trainer/Mentors attached to

organizations or active within communities, who

then run courses and mentor entrepreneurs within

their local community or network.

• We have recently developed a programme to train

“Master Trainers,” so that these efforts can be

multiplied.

• The Department of Social Services in Mpumalanga

Province has already benefitted from this model, as

have several Church groups and NGO’s in other

countries in Africa. (e.g. Uganda, Zambia and

Kenya, with Nigeria and Rwanda soon to be

added).

Christopher CheweFilling Station

• Christopher owns a number of taxi’s and had to complete a Business Diploma prior to his final submission.

• The Business Plan written during the Micro-MBA course enabled him to access a loan of R400 000 to open his filling station in Soweto.

Sango BamSangweni B&B in Langa

• Sango says, “This course was vital to me, because of some things that I was not doing in my business.

• I have been running this B&B business for 2 years now and for the first time I know how to do my costingsproperly and how to manage my money.

• I am much more confident about the future.”

District Mail (Western Cape)

Scott Newbert1 maintains that entrepreneurs:

“contribute substantially to the overall welfare

of society through

– Job creation,

– Wealth distribution, and

– Lack of discrimination.”

1. Realizing the Spirit and Impact of Adam Smith's Capitalism through Entrepreneurship, Journal of

Business Ethics, Vol 46, No 3. Scott L Newbert

Time to Grow!

• At Micro-MBA, we have been paying our dues

since 1987.

• We have learned what does not work in economic

development.

• We have something that works at grassroots level,

as well as higher up the economic ladder!

We’re looking for partners!

MICRO-MBA

P O Box 8009, Roggebaai 8012, Cape Town

Tel: 021 461-1321 Fax: 021 461-5947

Web: www.micro-mba.com

eMail: cedric@micro-mba.com