Can South Africa Fix Its Ailing Economy

As a South African, a businessman and an entrepreneur, I look at the dismal forecast that economists and the media place on our economy going forward and ask the inevitable question........ WHY?

We have a huge unemployed problem with people crying out for jobs in an ever shrinking economy and again I ask....... WHY?

This country has some brilliant designers, manufacturers and people with strong ideas and products but cannot get to produce them for lack of funding or access to funding and again I ask....... WHY?

Unfortunately the answers are all too clear. Too much emphasis has been placed on the BIG organizations, BIG businesses, BIG multi nationals to Government Parastatals to supply the needed work for those millions without work and to bring in the foreign currency to help pay our national debt and keep our economy up and running.

The WHY needs answering and can only be addressed by looking at small businesses to SME's to help. There are thousands of individuals who have products that can be manufactured and produced not only for the local market but also for the International export market and in doing so, can also supply those needed 'jobs'.......... but there is something critical missing!!! Unfortunately Government has to come to the table with this one and I am not sure that this is of importance enough at this critical stage so soon after lockdown around Covid-19.

I am a businessman, entrepreneur and a designer of products and I am 70 years ‘young’ and on a State pension, yet I have a few products (10 to be exact with 3 that are patented and design registered) that could be sold locally and overseas and bring in those needed Rands, Dollars, Euros and Pounds BUT....... I cannot get the funding to bring those products to market. I have over the last few years approached IDC, Red Door to how many others I can't count.......... with the same outcome....... "sorry can't help you." And the reasons given....... non BBEEE compliant, too old, don't have enough collateral to a host of other excuses.

There are numerous ways and means to provide funding with all the checks and balances required to make them safe for the person or institution doing the funding but what seems to be lacking is a reluctance to fund which stems from most times not understanding what the products are and the relevant markets - basically not understanding the usages of the product and no willingness to find out. In the short and long term this shortsightedness is going to cost us BIG time.

This is the T-Set. A golf accessory with 9 height settings, a divot tool with 2 flat sides which allows for on course branding for charity, club and corporate golf events and Pro-ams as seen here. The photo shows a painted 3D printed prototype (patented and design registered). This small golf tool has the capacity to be sold all over the world and especially for the events market. As a small example, the USA 'used' to have over 800,000 events and tournaments each year with an average player base of 150 golfers. Now with the Covid -19 restrictions who knows how many events will take place but even at a fraction of the above, you do the math at say .1%...... @ +- $10 per unit....???

And this is the Shady. This is a cap and visor accessory to keep the sun off your neck and ears and again can be branded for golf events to any outdoor activity – garden services, to walkers, to fishermen – the list just goes on and on which would sell for about $15 to $18

Right here is the problem. With just these two products up and running I could employ a minimum of 15 to 30 people, bring in Rands, $, Eur and Pounds, get off that State pension and be a productive citizen....... and the reason I cannot do it is rolled up in Governmental and banking reluctance or inability to help fund me or even look at the possibilities. If I don't know the product or the market, sorry can't help you…….. we should in fact know better...!!!

How many other people are out there that could probably do the same thing as I could..... 100, 1,000 maybe 10,000. Working on just 1,000 people bringing in just $5000 per month from exports gives our economy a R80m boost per month (R960m p/year).......... now make that figure 10,000 people and you have a substantial boost to our economy at 800 million Rand per month (9.6 Billion Rand a year).......... and I cannot 'borrow' R250,000 to start any one of my business and personally bring in ‘ultra conservative’ figures of R750,000 to a R1,000,000 plus a year and employ those 5 to 10 people and with both businesses running bring in double to triple those amounts and employ 15 to 30 people. This inability, I and many cannot understand.

Add just 5 to 10 people working x those 10,000 ‘new’ businesses and it would also ‘start’ doings good things for our unemployment figures and if the businesses are slightly bigger and can employ 30 to 40 people……???

A funding system needs to be found to help kick start small businesses like mine without the overuse of 'Red Tape' that slows and kills not only our possibilities but deadens our economy. Where to now South Africa???

***I have now offered 30% of the T-Set to anyone who is willing to put down R250,000 (+-$18,000) and have also put 'The Shady' out on a Open Auction via the internet (with a minimum acceptance amount) - just to get my primary product the T-Set onto the market.....… not that I want to offer or sell but to get going I again find myself asking that infuriating question............. WHY???

The question here should then be asked of Government, "Are you really interested in getting our economy going or is it all talk and hot air?" Every month our economy is taking hard knocks, there is more unemployment and Government is looking for those extra billions to shore up our failing economy and country and stop us being downgraded to junk status (oops too late, already done). We, ‘all’ the little businessmen and women of this country, the entrepreneurs have many of your answers. Are you (the SA Government that is) going to play ball and allow us the opportunity to get stuck in and help??? This needs implementation soon..... very soon and I for one am willing to sit down now round a table to help make it happen..... are you???

If you agree with the above post, please share it and let us get something going before it is way too late........… with the Covid-19 lockdown now fading into 2021 maybe we are already there!!!

Contact: Graham Riley on 083 961 8072 or by email at [email protected]