START A BUSINESS LIKE a Saffer

There's nothing quite like a South African entrepreneur. In the face of adversity, they innovate and persevere. But what fuels that determination? We chatted to some self-starters to find out.

- CHARIS TORRANCE & BELINDA MOUNTAIN

It’s no secret that South Africa is a challenging place to live and work. ‘But the hottest fires forge the toughest steel, and this is a truism that I’ve come to appreciate more acutely since moving to Europe,’ says Belinda Mountain, business owner and co-author of Small Business – Big Plans. ‘After more than a decade of building our content agency in South Africa and working with a variety of business owners, from family-run furniture manufacturers to exciting tech startups, I’ve noticed that South African business owners share a unique set of skills and perspectives.’

This skill set is something worth celebrating and learning from, especially when times get tough. So what exactly sets us Saffers apart?

We have a DIY mentality

South Africans don’t sit around and wait for people to help us; we go out and make it happen on our own. And that’s often due to necessity, whether it’s generating our own electricity, arranging our own security, fixing our own roads or even creating our own jobs. Rolf Stucky, marketing and communications chair of the Entrepreneurs Organisation Johannesburg, notes that the political environment in South Africa compels people to take charge. ‘Other countries have better social welfare programmes, whereas here we need to get out there and open the doors.’