A 23-year-old man starts his first business venture, with no experience, and dubs it The New York Sausage factory. On the menu, he puts 12 different hotdogs to tickle his customers’ tastebuds. His tag line? The United Tastes of America.

It’s fun, it’s quirky, and overall, it’s really not a bad idea. But shortly after its inception, it fails. Its founder, now much older and wiser, is Allon Raiz. “It was only when I tried the business the second time with the support of a team of mentors who asked me the right questions and gave me the guidance I needed, that I made a success of it,” Allon says.

In another place and at another time, a young woman leaves her well-paying job in investment banking in Johannesburg, to go back home to the dusty roads of the Free State. She packs up her corporate suits, puts them in her small car, and leaves behind a lovely apartment in the Sandton area. Today, she is the Vice Chairperson of SiMODiSA, and the founder of Furaha Afrika Holdings. Her name is Matsi Modise. “Entrepreneurship is intuitive, I had to listen to that gut instinct,” she says.

The two entrepreneurs are now immersed in their passions to see the development of entrepreneurs. In 2000, Raiz established Raizcorp out of the desire to assist entrepreneurs and their businesses to grow through prosperator programmes, providing scale-up equity, educating children in the sphere of entrepreneurship and assisting governments to establish infrastructure for entrepreneurs at a national level. Similarly, SiMODiSA is about catalyzing and amplifying South African start ups. Furaha Afrika Holdings, which was established in 2013, forms strategic partnerships with organisations to seek opportunities for meaningful investments, both in terms of infrastructure and human capital.

If there is a pair of people to ask about entrepreneurship and its development, it is Allon Raiz and Matsi Modise. So how can South African entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses? For Modise, it involves focus. “South African businesses need to focus on the fundamentals of building real businesses. I feel that we have too many ‘celebrity entrepreneurs’,” she explains. As someone who spent the early stages of her entrepreneurial journey “living lean”, Matsi believes that entrepreneurship has, to a certain extent, been glamorized and sensationalized. Entrepreneurship now comes with a persona, which entrepreneurs tend to focus on more than building the actual business.

For Raiz, sustainable business is about a compelling economical right to exist. “Too often, in South Africa, we need funding. But before you can need or pursue that, you need a compelling economic right to exist,” he says. This means having something unique to sell, and a market to sell it to. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to have the ability and the desire to sell, and to sell at a profit.

Unique to South African entrepreneurship is that we haven’t explored our market potential. “If we, as South Africans, can broaden our scopes, we could tap into that market potential. We tend to work in isolation, as an island on our continent,” Matsi says about challenges specific to the country.

Raizcop

This thriving incubator supports over 500 businesses by nurturing entrepreneurs and helping them to grow into profitable businesses. The company has since evolved into different divisions that service the specific needs of entrepreneurs and those who support them.

Raizcorp’s ARIZE division provides business support for enthusiastic and growth-hungry entrepreneurs, offering them a platform that fosters learning and guidance that can be translated into practical business success.

Additionally, Raizcorp also offers equity partnership opportunities that provide business guidance and support for scale-up businesses.

On top of that, the company also provides corporate sponsors with access to quality suppliers for enterprise and supplier development (ESD) – not only for their own enterprise-development benefits but also to grow a high-quality and efficient supply chain that will improve business operations and increase profits.

Raizcorp’s ‘Seed’ division works closely with governments, DFIs and multinationals to support them with their entrepreneurial development strategies, particularly in the developing world.

The hub also offers equity partnership opportunities that provide business guidance and support for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the company provides corporate sponsors with access to quality suppliers for enterprise and supplier development (ESD).

Over 12500 businesses have graduated from their high-touch Prosperator™ programmes.

Furaha Afrika Holdings

As specialists in Enterprise Development and Supplier Development, Furaha Solutions provides advisory services and strategies to suit both private and public-sector business.

One of the key areas that the company is focused on is investing in Africa’s growth through high-potential technology initiatives. They actively seek out investment opportunities with high quality privately owned businesses across a range of key sectors on the African continent.

The company’s competency lies in offering its clients a legally compliant, fully managed solution that covers all sectors and levels of staff. From tailor-made outsourcing solutions to all aspects of human capital management, employee benefits, and training, their services extend beyond staffing to providing turnkey employment solutions.

This fast-growing entity also caters for a wide range of industries, including everything from Agriculture to Hospitality and Mining, enabling the company to assist clients in various fields including casual, semi-skilled and skilled talent.

Raizcorp and Furaha Afrika Holdings are among the leading, most successful and recognised companies in South Africa in the ED and investment sector, simply because of the good work they’re doing in an effort to help improve the state of entrepreneurship in SA. To achieve such a reputation does not happen overnight or come easy, it consists of hard work, a passion for entrepreneurship, a desire to help and serve others, and some wisdom and experience acquired over time, through patience and learning from mistakes – these are some of the encounters that helped to shape both Allon and Matsi to become the thriving entrepreneurs they are today!

Vital Stats

Featured entrepreneur: Matsi Modise

Key players: Matsi Modise

Age: 34

Company name: Furaha Afrika Holdings

Year founded: 2013

Turnover: R7 million +

Start-up funding: 0

Vital Stats

Featured entrepreneur: Allon Raiz

Key players: Allon Raiz

Age: 52

Company name: Raizcorp

Year founded: 2000

Serving entrepreneurs