Founder of ‘The Business Place’,
Lisa Kropman, is credited with changing the business environment in
South Africa by opening up market accessibility for micro-enterprises.
Having been born and bred in South Africa, Kropman has remained dedicated to ensuring equal access to business opportunities – and is applauded for facilitating township start-ups as they attempt to set up viable businesses.
Indeed, Tim Cohen of the Daily Maverick has highlighted the real-life impact that Kropman’s work has had on lower level businesses in today’s South African economy, saying: “It’s impossible to know how many township bakeries and other small businesses Kropman has been responsible for initiating, but I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that thousands of people owe their livelihoods to her initiative and drive.”
In this vein, one of Kropman’s most significant contributions to the start-up sector in South Africa has been her creation of the Business Place. The Business Place – launched in 1999 – is an organisation which provides practical support for start-ups and small businesses, ranging from providing practical information, provision of bespoke training and the hosting of workshops to enable entrepreneurs to tackle their business-related difficulties and grow their businesses.
Having started off with one branch in Johannesburg – financed by Investec Bank and the City of Johannesburg-, the Business Place now spreads across South Africa and Swaziland, and has even expanded to Botswana. The branches now act as a network of support hubs for small-scale entrepreneurs who have the ideas and the drive, but perhaps are lacking in resources and business skills, and would not without help be able to maximise on their start-ups in order to keep their businesses afloat.
Importantly, the Business Place model also acts as a connector opening up channels between micro-enterprises and investors. Most recently, the hub has invited a financing organ – Anglo Zimele, a micro-financing company within Anglo American Corporation – into certain Business Place offices in order to pilot loan desks; thus providing direct financial access for micro and small enterprises.
Kropman holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Witwatersrand. She is also a Bishop Tutu African Leadership Fellow. Her career to date demonstrates that with dedication and social awareness, one person can implement initiatives that have the potential to transform a whole section of a country’s economy.
Source: CPAfrica
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