Building the capacity of Weavers to foster Innovative Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Supporting innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems in South Africa

The entrepreneurial ecosystem of South Africa is characterised by strong networks and a diversified business support landscape, creating an increasingly enabling environment for (very) early-stage entrepreneurs. However, it is important to note that key challenges remain such as poor coordination between different actors or the low innovation dynamic within and between core members, especially at sub-national level.  

Based on this diagnostic, IYBA-SEED South Africa, in partnership with Mesopartner, has drafted a specific action plan aiming at  building the capacity of weavers to foster innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems.  

Training ecosystem weavers to address real-world challenges

Weavers can be defined as network facilitators and representatives of enterprise support organizations who are committed to driving collaborative, meaningful change in their communities. These weavers already exist, and they often naturally mobilise stakeholders through social, economic or innovation networks.

With that in mind, IYBA-SEED South Africa aimed to empower business support organisations and network facilitators, known as ecosystem weavers, to confront the challenges and opportunities that undermine innovation in their ecosystems and to collaboratively create better services and opportunities for businesses. Through workshops, mentoring, and practical tools, the IYBA-SEED capacity building programme equips participants to address real-world challenges with sustainable, locally driven solutions.  

Sharing insights from implementation to foster collective learning

This innovative capacity building programme has been designed to be replicable and adjusted based on the reality of stakeholders on the ground. The team gave specific attention to document the process and gather insights from its implementation to allow continuous improvement and foster collective learning among ecosystem actors and supporters.  

In addition to main elements and insights from the capacity building programme, the main report includes two Annexes:  

• Annex A: Weavers' training design and flow
• Annex B: Weavers’ training kit
• It is also accompanied by a summarized concept note on the selection criteria for both Weavers and Ecosystems to be supported : "How to select weavers ans ecosystems to be supported ". The concept note is coupled with lessons learnt from implementation, and suggestions on how to apply/assess the proposed (or similar) criteria in a relevant selection process.