Using Entrepreneurship to Address Economic Challenges

The pandemic has left many new and existing entrepreneurs in the clothing manufacturing industry at a “blind alley.” On the other end, there are many left over offcuts and swatches disposed of by manufacturing units and retailers that could be otherwise given a meaningful purpose to contribute towards minimizing waste and supporting the circular economy. This will prevent environmental pollution in many ways and contribute towards a sustainable world. While web-based interventions have been the highlight for many years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, we thought of bringing this into the world of the less privileged where survivalist entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the unemployed can benefit. South Africa is currently facing high rate of unemployment; therefore, this effort is to slightly minimize this and contribute towards employment and skill building. We through our final year diploma students at the Department of Clothing and Textile Technology at Cape Peninsula University of Technology presented the concept of an entrepreneurial hub. The project involved creating waste minimizing creative artefacts in various forms. There were multilingual digital storytelling videos on the most spoken regional language of South Africa. The videos were compressed, and images were sourced for low-tech accessibility. They were made available via YouTube and WhatsApp keeping the data constraint and ease of access in mind. The project currently has no cost involved to any party, yet earn new skill sets and provide a source of income during these difficult times. The goal is to transform the primary idea that people have and unidimensional understanding of what sustainability comprises of and not how it could have a multidimensional impact to the society and environment and improve the quality of life. There has been a lot of interest from the community and retail clothing industry offering support. The approach to the impact has been multimodal with pre and post surveys and focus group interviews with entrepreneurs and small businesses. Feedback has been positive with people highlighting the need for such a change in South Africa and the culmination of such a platform where unemployment could be minimized. A qualitative study with key role players indicated the need for a formal free and open access platform that needs to be made available, and we are in discussion at the institutional level. Further research will include establishing an entrepreneurial hub to ensure access to stakeholders with lab equipment funded by the department and the technology station.