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THUDtrepreneurs Is A Company That Seeks To Educate Start-Ups About The Various Opportunities To Trade

THUDtrepreneurs Is A Company That Seeks To Educate Start-Ups About The Various Opportunities To Trade. Founded in 2012 by Selebogo Molefe, THUDtrepreneurs events are hosted monthly across various cities in SA and select countries in SADC, East and, West Africa. Since the pandemic in 2020, it has digitised its interactions to curb the spread of the virus. The company is intentional in educating start-ups of the various opportunities to trade that exist across regions and create connections between stakeholders that can scale start-ups.

It aims to create a culture of entrepreneurship through informal dialogue and have the ultimate goal of connecting African entrepreneurs to entrepreneurs across the world and even opportunities in the private and public sectors. In the long-term, it hopes to build a network of 1 million connected entrepreneurs across Africa by 2020. In simple terms THUDtrepreneurs connect entrepreneurs with each other in an environment that enables them to gain access to each other’s networks over food and drinks.

THUDtrepreneurs uses StokFella.com, a transparent digital platform where internal members are privy to all transactions happening in their stokvel group. The platform drives transparency across the board. It has gathered that for businesses to scale and be sustainable it’s more advantageous when they are part of an intentional community.

Stokvels have limitations, because of their informal nature they are unable to use the money collected to buy into viable businesses, this is why all its stokvels will be transitioning to fully-fledged co-operatives. A co-operative has the generic makings of a stokvel but is recognised as a legal entity that allows a group of individuals to participate in economic activities equally. Each group of 100 elects a board of directors for its co-operative, the board then engages the managing team(Barui) and the Franchisor representing the members, the 100 shareholders. Though these three independent entities separate they work together to manage each store.

“Our guiding mantra is #ThinkOwnership, we don’t just want to consume the product, and we want to influence the value chain.  We truly believe that If you want to empower people, give them economic power where their voices matter. Ubuntu… it takes a village…!” the company said on its website.

By Thomas Chiothamisi

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