VeloCITI: business acceleration project
30 October 2006
The Cape IT Initiative (CITI) is embarking on its most ambitious ICT business acceleration project to date, VeloCITI.
The VeloCITI project will see 15 young ICT companies working together with some of Cape Town's best business mentors and coaches for a period of nine months. The selected companies will receive ongoing business support, including premises in the business accelerator, Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town's CBD. One of the main reasons why young companies fail is that they are ill-equipped to handle the day-to-day imperatives of running a business. Even with the best ideas and intellectual capital in the market, without the practical knowledge of how to close deals, win new clients, recruit staff or manage cash flow, a business will never survive.
The project will be divided into three phases:
Planning:
The first phase will see participants working in groups to workshop how to "get the basics right", e.g. develop all the marketing and sales collateral necessary to win new clients.
Refining:
The second phase will introduce more interaction conducted on an individual level over and above the group sessions and will focus on how companies and individuals can refine their processes which will also lead to securing more business and staying on top of their internal operational challenges.
Optimising:
The third phase is aimed to optimize a company's readiness for rapid growth. This will include the art of negotiating contracts as well as how best to secure financing.
CITI will be looking for true entrepreneurs who have the drive and motivation to take a company from plan to profit, from idea to a sustainable business model, and who will create sustainable IT businesses capable of creating jobs and generating skills in the region.
Last year, CITI and Provincial Government ran Launchpad, a similar initiative which saw seven empowered companies graduate and move into the broader ICT market as confident and profitable companies. UniNet and Knowledge Crucible are two of the outstanding examples of start-up businesses subsequently winning significant orders and having moved beyond the fight for sustainability into businesses experiencing real growth. CITI aims to grow on this success with VeloCITI and for that reason it is casting its net far and wide to attract the very best companies out there to participate in the programme.
Our three main objectives is to grow, promote and transform the Western Cape IT industry and it is with these objectives in mind that the programme has been formulated. The beauty of working in a group environment is that companies have an opportunity to workshop their businesses in a safe and supportive environment. On many occasions companies looking for a solution can, through teamwork, come up with a far more effective solution.
Company profile guideline:
Our Assumptions:
Contact Odette Potter at odette@bwb.org.za for an application form or download it from here.
Complete application form and return to Odette via email or fax (021) 409 7050
Application forms will be read and sifted.
Interviews will be scheduled
CITI would like to thank the Provincial Government of the Western Cape for their sponsorship of this project
The Cape IT Initiative (CITI) is embarking on its most ambitious ICT business acceleration project to date, VeloCITI.
The VeloCITI project will see 15 young ICT companies working together with some of Cape Town's best business mentors and coaches for a period of nine months. The selected companies will receive ongoing business support, including premises in the business accelerator, Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town's CBD. One of the main reasons why young companies fail is that they are ill-equipped to handle the day-to-day imperatives of running a business. Even with the best ideas and intellectual capital in the market, without the practical knowledge of how to close deals, win new clients, recruit staff or manage cash flow, a business will never survive.
The project will be divided into three phases:
Planning:
The first phase will see participants working in groups to workshop how to "get the basics right", e.g. develop all the marketing and sales collateral necessary to win new clients.
Refining:
The second phase will introduce more interaction conducted on an individual level over and above the group sessions and will focus on how companies and individuals can refine their processes which will also lead to securing more business and staying on top of their internal operational challenges.
Optimising:
The third phase is aimed to optimize a company's readiness for rapid growth. This will include the art of negotiating contracts as well as how best to secure financing.
CITI will be looking for true entrepreneurs who have the drive and motivation to take a company from plan to profit, from idea to a sustainable business model, and who will create sustainable IT businesses capable of creating jobs and generating skills in the region.
Last year, CITI and Provincial Government ran Launchpad, a similar initiative which saw seven empowered companies graduate and move into the broader ICT market as confident and profitable companies. UniNet and Knowledge Crucible are two of the outstanding examples of start-up businesses subsequently winning significant orders and having moved beyond the fight for sustainability into businesses experiencing real growth. CITI aims to grow on this success with VeloCITI and for that reason it is casting its net far and wide to attract the very best companies out there to participate in the programme.
Our three main objectives is to grow, promote and transform the Western Cape IT industry and it is with these objectives in mind that the programme has been formulated. The beauty of working in a group environment is that companies have an opportunity to workshop their businesses in a safe and supportive environment. On many occasions companies looking for a solution can, through teamwork, come up with a far more effective solution.
Company profile guideline:
- the company should be operational already or about to go operational independent of VeloCITI
- Have an existing business idea/business plan
- If software business: software already in Beta status
- If product business: prototype must exist already, no distribution of existing products - must be own invention
- If Service business: Service must be clearly defined, at least one reference customer
- full-time dedicated team
- team members must have some tertiary education (e.g. diploma)
Our Assumptions:
- Currently the team is too small to cover all areas, e.g. finance, sales, technical, strategy, operational, marketing ,HR
- The business model has potential but flaws, gaps that can be fixed.
- The team is open to advise and can gain a lot from it
- Development / fine-tuning of business model
- Assistance with implementation of business model through focus on personal growth, mentoring and business development support and networking
- At the end of the process companies should have a sustainable business model Preparation for growth: mindset, structure, process, sales pipeline, skills, financial resources
Contact Odette Potter at odette@bwb.org.za for an application form or download it from here.
Complete application form and return to Odette via email or fax (021) 409 7050
Application forms will be read and sifted.
Interviews will be scheduled
CITI would like to thank the Provincial Government of the Western Cape for their sponsorship of this project