And this is exactly what Sir Richard Branson has done over the last decade. He has become the embodiment of the transformation from tycoon to social entrepreneur; he now spends over 60% of his ‘work’ time at Virgin Unite, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. It is his investment into inspirational entrepreneurship in Africa, however, that I personally believe has the potential to be a true game changer.
My introduction to both Branson and Africa occurred nearly 20 years ago whilst climbing Mt Kilimanjaro for my 25 birthday. I had developed early stages of Mountain Altitude Sickness (MAS) attempting the 20,000 feet climb and was seriously thinking of giving up. Witnessing my lack of motivation, one of my fellow climbers handed me a business biography by a British bloke I had never heard of entitled “Losing My Virginity”. Imagine, now, in 2013 having never heard of Richard Branson.
It is not hyperbole to say that not only did Sir Richard’s book help reinvigorate my motivation to continue to the summit, it inspired me to launch my own business on my return to Australia and to set myself a goal - to take my business partner and ten staff to climb Mt Kilimanjaro when we made our first million.
To cut a long story short, we did take our staff to climb ‘Kili’, and this unusual incentive paved the way for building an amazing staff culture and a fast growth business where adventure and commerce were forever entwined. Yet it wasn’t until a few years after we had successfully exited our business that I met the man who had unwittingly given me the confidence to start on this journey.
It was at a gathering of twenty social entrepreneurs from around the world on Necker Island - the Virgin founder’s private sanctum in the Caribbean. This was an amazing week with much agreement on the future of practical philanthropy including the part that social enterprise could play. But what really inspired me was Richard’s vision for the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in South Africa. An ambitious program to help disadvantaged entrepreneurs from the townships launch and grow their own enterprises.
I truly believe that the catalyst to help lift Africa out of its poverty cycle is fostering the business potential of youth. It is a passion of mine, so I was quick to volunteer my time and entrepreneurial training programs. The collaboration, now in its third year, is a weeklong bootcamp for the Branson Centre graduates and a select group of western entrepreneurs and coaches.
We call it the Ultimate Growth Adventure.
Most entrepreneurs are time poor and easily distracted – and aren’t keen on a classroom style of teaching, let alone those who may only have had a rudimentary education. So, instead of boring PowerPoint presentations of corporate case studies, we head to a game park two hours drive north of Johannesburg to capitalise on the power of adventure and friendly competition and to bring my unique Decisionship methodology alive.
The ‘Masterchef’ competition by auction and open fire hammers home the importance of business models like nothing the Harvard Business School can dish up.
The mountaineering challenge teaches the attendees the stages of business growth in an unforgettable way. The theatre night aims to demonstrate the power of leveraging the skills of others whereas the orienteering challenge amongst the teeming wildlife helps develop decision making and the importance of setting a realistic goal and sticking with it. There is also a building challenge with spaghetti, a speed painting challenge, a lottery game spotting competition, speed quizzes, hopping cricket and numerous other challenges to develop the attendees’ leadership and entrepreneurial spirit.
In short – teaching business like it should be taught; at the speed of light, and in a fun and engaging way.
One of the elements of the program that I am most proud of is this; we bring two disparate groups together as peers. The western entrepreneurs and coaches from Australia and all around the world sit alongside their South African counterparts as entrepreneurial equals. They are all on a mission to help each other and improve their knowledge, whether they have a $30 million business in Sydney or an online start-up in Soweto. My short stint in teaching entrepreneurship has already shown me that you can often learn as much from a passionate start-up as from someone featured in the latest issue of Forbes.
Why do I care so much about this program? Without presuming to know what Sir Richard Branson thinks, I feel it is possibly along the same lines as his passion for the Branson Centre. There is an oft-missed recognition that the difference between a truly rich nation and a poor one is not the extent of corporate investment jostling for market share. Nor the millions employed through family or micro-enterprise. No; it is the need to focus on the missing middle. It’s the need to foster success with a select group of innovators who will ensure that true entrepreneurship flourishes in the future. It is a generational mind shift that may take decades to see the results of your efforts – but the results will be there.
Imagine the impact if the next Branson, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Gates was African.
Thank you Sir Richard for taking on a truly inspiring mission that as time passes, I am sure will be one of your greatest legacies.
If you would like more information or to apply to join the Ultimate Growth Adventure in South Africa at the end of November to help support this incredible initiative contact graham@accelerateglobal.com
