Case Study: The Southern Africa Initiative of German Business - a ...

Case Study: The Southern Africa Initiative of German Business - 

a B2B initiative promotes entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking 

in southern Africa 

Prepared for the International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 16-18 November 2010, 

hosted by La Consolacion College, Mendiola, Manila, Philippines, in cooperation with the Hochschule 

Wismar, Wismar, Germany, and Shijiazhuang University of Economics, Hebei, China 

Nina E. Mapili 

SAFRI Journey to Excellence Program, and Mapili GmbH 

Alpenstr. 11, Friedrichshafen, Germany 

nina@mapili.com 

Tel: +49 7541 33773, Mobile: +49 172 9586271 

www.safri.de, www.mapili.com 

Abstract 

SAFRI, the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business, is a private B2B initiative created in 1996 

by the Afrika-Verein (AV), the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Association of German 

Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). Headed since its inception by Prof. Juergen E. 

Schrempp, the now retired Chairman of Daimler-Benz, then DaimlerChrysler (now Daimler AG), it 

has supported many different initiatives aimed at focusing attention on the economic potential of the 

member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and further promoting 

German business activities in the region. 

One key area of activity has been promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking in the 

region. Originally through the SAFRI HRD Project, and more recently through SAFRI’s Journey to 

Excellence (J2Ex) Program, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and increasingly micro businesses 

and enterprising individuals, have been assisted in improving their strategic focus, competitiveness, 

and levels of organizational/individual excellence via training and mentoring. Local facilitators, 

mentors, and excellence assessors have been trained in parallel. 

Workshops have been conducted in 11 of the 15 SADC countries. Well over a thousand people have 

been trained since the introduction of the Journey to Excellence Program in 2006. 

The EFQM Excellence Model, an internationally-recognized management tool, is at the core of the 

J2Ex program, which offers entry points for management teams at different levels of organizational 

maturity, as well as for individuals wanting to lead an enterprising life. 

The author consults for the SAFRI Chairman’s Office, whose work is funded by Daimler AG (and 

previously by DaimlerChrysler and Daimler-Benz). She developed the initial program for working 

with SADC businesses in 1998, and continues program development and implementation to the 

present. The Journey to Excellence Program IP belongs to her company, Mapili GmbH, based in 

Friedrichshafen, Germany. 

This paper explores the motivation, approaches, challenges, successes, lessons learned, and way 

forward in this unique, long-term, privately-funded initiative’s work promoting entrepreneurship in 

SADC. 

Keywords: Africa, SADC, entrepreneurship, SME, SMME, training, mentoring, Journey to 

Excellence, J2Ex, B2B, education, organisational excellence, organizational excellence, SAFRI, 

Daimler, Juergen E. Schrempp, EFQM, excellence model, Business Development Services, BDS, AV, 

BDI, DIHK 

MAPILI: Case Study: SAFRI - a B2B initiative promotes entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking in southern Africa 1

Case Study: 

SAFRI - a B2B initiative promotes entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial 

thinking in southern Africa 

1. Background 

For decades, even centuries, Africa has been written off by people around the world as a hopeless 

continent. Its mention conjures images of war, famine, disease, poverty… Yes, there is war, famine, 

disease and poverty in Africa, but what many have missed is that there is also an exciting flip side to 

that negative picture. See, for example, the IMF’s projected GDP growth for 2010-2011( 2 IMF): 

With South Africa’s election of President Nelson Mandela in 1994, South Africa lost its pariah status. 

The same year it joined SADC, the Southern African Development Community, whose origins lie in 

the struggle of the “Front Line States” against white minority rule in apartheid South Africa. SADC 

now aims to promote socio-economic cooperation, regional integration, and political and security 

cooperation amongst its 15 member states ( 2 SADC). 

By 1996, the country was well on its way to becoming the new South Africa, the Rainbow Nation, 

Africa's motor for development. That year, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl paid a state visit to 

South African President Nelson Mandela. His delegation included representatives of the German 

business community, whom he challenged to actively welcome their African colleagues into the global 

business community. 

SAFRI, the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business, was created later that year by three leading 

German business organizations: Afrika-Verein (AV, German-African Business Association), the 

Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and 

Commerce (DIHK). 

Since its creation, SAFRI has supported many initiatives aimed at focusing attention on the economic 

potential of the SADC member states and further promoting German business activities in the region. 

( 3 SAFRI) 

SAFRI has been headed since its inception by Prof. Juergen E. Schrempp, the now retired Chairman of 

Daimler-Benz, then DaimlerChrysler (now Daimler AG). Mr. Schrempp had served in the 

management of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, the Group's South African subsidiary, for over a decade, 


and during this time he developed a 

deep affection for the country and a 

commitment to improving the region's 

social and economic conditions. He 

has a close relationship with expresident 

Mandela, served as a 

member of the International 

Investment Council of the President of 

South Africa, and has been South 

Africa’s Honorary General Consul for 

a number of German states for many 

years. 

SAFRI supports different initiatives in 

Germany aimed at focusing attention 

on the economic potential of SADC 

countries and promotes German 

business activities in the region. In 

parallel, it has been working in SADC 

to promote entrepreneurship and 

entrepreneurial thinking, with the aim 

to supporting regionalization and 

improve the quality of life of the 

people in SADC. 

Originally through the SAFRI HRD 

Project, and more recently through 

implementation of the Journey to 

Excellence (J2Ex) Program ( 5 Mapili), 

small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 

and increasingly micro businesses and enterprising individuals, have been assisted in improving their 

strategic focus, competitiveness, and levels of organizational/individual excellence via training and 

mentoring. Local facilitators, mentors, and excellence assessors have been trained in parallel. 

The J2Ex Program was developed on the basis of the EFQM Excellence Model, an internationallyrecognized 

management tool. It offers entry points for management teams at different levels of 

organizational maturity, as well as for individuals wanting to lead an enterprising life. 

Workshops have been conducted in 11 of the 15 SADC countries (all except Angola, Democratic 

Republic of Congo, Mauritius, and Seychelles). Well over a thousand people have been trained since 

the introduction of the Journey to Excellence Program in 2006. 

In addition, SAFRI, in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz South Africa, runs an internship program for 

students and recent graduates from SADC. Participants work in Germany for 6 months, gaining both 

practical work experience and invaluable intercultural experiences. 

All of the work done by or through the SAFRI Chairman’s Office is funded by Daimler AG (and 

previously by DaimlerChrysler and Daimler-Benz). I developed the initial program for working with 

SADC businesses in 1998, and continue development and implementation to the present. The 

continuous improvement of a single program is a great strength when seen in comparison to the short 

term interventions that are characteristic of many development agencies. 


2. Focus of the paper 

This paper explores the motivation, approaches, challenges, successes, lessons learned, and ways 

forward in this unique, long-term, privately-funded initiative’s work promoting entrepreneurship in 

SADC. It is broken down as follows: 

• Motivation, Approach, Vision, Goals and Strategies 

• The SAFRI HRD Project: early phases of the program and lessons learned along the way 

• The SAFRI Journey to Excellence Program 

• Ways forward 

3. Motivation, Approach, Vision, Goals, Strategies 

3.1 Motivation 

Germany, a country without significant natural resources other than its people, is an exporting 

powerhouse. Much of its strength is derived from a strong backbone of highly competitive small and 

medium sized industries (SMEs). German businesses need new markets to grow, and as we can see in 

Figure 1, GDP growth in SADC is generally high in comparison to Europe. SADC clearly offers 

opportunities worth exploring. 

At the same time, all SADC countries are classified as developing economies ( 6 World Bank). Details 

can be seen in Figure 5. SAFRI’s work in SADC is built upon recognition that helping the region 

become economically strong, 

stable, and integrated is good for 

business. It focuses on areas that 

were key to Germany’s own 

development: export capability and 

a strong SME sector ( 7 IfM Bonn). 

By strengthening businesses and 

promoting entrepreneurship, 

SAFRI supports the achievement 

of at least two of the UN’s 

Millennium Development Goals: 

• MDG 1: End Poverty and 

Hunger. Target 1.B, which 

concerns achieving full and 

productive employment and 

decent work for all, including 

women and young 

people, is especially relevant. 

( 9 UN) 

• MDG 8: Develop a global 

partnership for development. 

Target 8.A, which concerns 

developing countries gaining 

greater access to the markets 

of developed countries, is 

directly impacted by empowering 

entrepreneurs, and 

increasing their ability to 

trade across borders. ( 10 UN) 


Figure 5. Area, population, density, and GNI (gross national income) per capita in SADC . 

The World Bank classifies all SADC countries as “developing economies” based upon their annual 

GNI (gross national income) per capita. They are distributed amongst income classifications as 

follows: Lower income (≤ $995), Lower middle ($996-$3945), Upper middle ($3946-$12,195) 

No workshops have been held in the countries in italics. 

Additional countries are presented for comparison in the second part of the figure. 

SADC 

Country 

Area km 2 

% SADC 

Area 

Pop. 2008 

(WB data) 

% SADC 

Pop 

Pop. 

density / 

km 2 

GNI per 

capita 2008 

Zimbabwe 390,757 3.95% 12,462,879 4.73% 32 ? 

South Africa 1,219,090 12.33% 48,687,000 18.48% 40 5,730 

Malawi 118,484 1.20% 14,846,182 5.63% 125 250 

Botswana 581,730 5.89% 1,921,122 0.73% 3 5,920 

Namibia 824,292 8.34% 2,129,854 0.81% 3 4,111 

Lesotho 30,355 0.31% 2,049,429 0.78% 68 1,060 

Swaziland 17,364 0.18% 1,167,834 0.44% 67 2,540 

Mozambique 799,380 8.09% 22,382,533 8.49% 28 340 

Madagascar 587,041 5.94% 19,110,941 7.25% 33 420 

Tanzania 947,300 9.58% 42,483,923 16.12% 45 400 

Zambia 752,618 7.61% 12,620,219 4.79% 17 950 

DRC 2,344,858 23.73% 64,256,635 24.39% 27 150 

Angola 1,246,700 12.61% 18,020,668 6.84% 14 2,590 

Mauritius 2,040 0.02% 1,268,854 0.48% 622 5,980 

Seychelles 455 0.005% 86,956 0.03% 191 10,220 

TOTAL for SADC 9,883,414 263,495,029 27 

SADC as % of world 

land mass 

6.64% 3.93% SADC as % of world pop. 

Some other countries for comparison 

Philippines 300,000 90,348,437 301 1,890.00 

Denmark 43,094 5,493,621 127 58,800.00 

Germany 357,022 82,110,097 230 42,710.00 

USA 9,826,675 304,060,000 31 47,930.00 

World 148,940,000 6,697,254,040 45 8,654.48 

(Compiled from 11 CIA and 12 World Bank) 

3.2 Approach 

From the very beginning, SAFRI has focused on engaging directly with SADC businesspeople on a 

business-to-business (B2B) basis. Our non-bureaucratic approach made it possible to quickly take 

advantage of opportunities, and constantly review activities and implement improvements. Even so, 

the learning curve was steep. There were no similar business-to-business initiatives with comparable 

goals, and benchmarking with aid-based programs with similar focus areas did not result in examples 

we felt worth emulating. 


Seen from the current perspective, SAFRI’s engagement with SADC entrepreneurs can be broken into 

two parts: Part 1, “The SAFRI Human Resources Development (HRD) Project” (1998-2005), and Part 

2, “The SAFRI Journey to Excellence (J2Ex) Program” (as of 2006). 

3.3 Vision for SAFRI’s work in SADC 

In our engagement with SADC businesses, organizations and individuals, we work to create a future in 

which “Enterprises in southern Africa are flourishing.” We do so by empowering entrepreneurs, 

management teams and nascent entrepreneurs through training and mentoring; by preparing local 

trainers and mentors to work with them; and by strengthening the institutions that support 

entrepreneurial growth and development. 

3.4 Goal of SAFRI’s Journey to Excellence Program 

The program’s primary goal is to increase the numbers and competitiveness of enterprises in SADC. 

Indicators include: 

• Degree to which workshop / mentoring program participants achieve the goals set out in their 

action plans. 

• Level of satisfaction in the program indicated in feedback forms 

• Numbers of workshops and participants 

• Number of mentors and facilitators qualified through the program 

3.5 Strategies of SAFRI’s Journey to Excellence Program 

The overarching strategy is to work in conjunction with local and international partners in SADC to 

offer an excellent, user-centered program for developing entrepreneurial skills and improving 

organizational excellence and competitiveness. This strategy has essentially been in place since the 

early days of engagement in SADC. Tactics and plans, however, have changed. 

Deconstructed, the individual elements as currently implemented become clear: 

• We work in conjunction with local and regional partners with congruent goals and direct 

access to potential program participants, trainers and mentors. Ideally, these partners have 

significant own funds to invest in our joint efforts. 

• The excellent quality of the J2Ex Program has grown on the basis of a world class 

management tool, the EFQM Excellence Model, coupled with well over a decade of 

experience on the ground in SADC. The Program is continuously improved on the basis of 

experience in workshops, feedback, learning and benchmarking. 

• From its original high level approach, the J2Ex Program has expanded to offer a wide range of 

entry points suitable to users ranging from enterprising individuals, through emerging 

enterprises to mature businesses or other organizations. 

• Skills upgrading and competitiveness are focused primarily around the development and 

implementation of strategic frameworks and associated action plans while pursuing the greater 

goal of organizational excellence. The region is awash with consultants wanting to write 

(cookie-cutter) business plans, strategic plans, marketing plans etc. for MSMEs, often with 

large government subsidies. In contrast, our emphasis is on empowering people to take charge 

of their lives, businesses and/or organizations themselves. If consultants are to be engaged, it 

should only be for clearly defined tasks in alignment with company vision, mission, goals and 

strategies, and specific tasks and outcomes to be achieved must be clearly delineated by 

management. 


3.6 Distribution of activities 

Since the beginning of SAFRI interventions in the region, we have worked in 11 of the 15 SADC 

countries. Counting from the introduction of the J2Ex Program in 2006, we have worked in 9 SADC 

countries, and even held workshops in Germany for people/organizations with a SADC connection. 

Figure 6. J2Ex Workshops held per country, and some basic information about our engagement. 

Country # Works. Comments 

RSA 12 

South Africa has a huge number of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium 

Enterprise) support programs. We take opportunities as they come, but do not 

spend a lot of time pursuing them. Our work in South Africa has been with a 

wide variety of partners. 

Namibia 12 

High number primarily due to the focus of a regional partner. Germany does, 

however, have a shared history with Namibia, and we have a variety of local 

contacts and partners. 

Zimbabwe 11 

Zimbabwe, despite all of its difficulties, has the advantage of significant natural 

resources, the highest level of literacy (with the exception of tiny Seychelles 

( 13 Aitchison and Rule), and, in the author’s experience, the most enterprising 

population. It is therefore a focal point for our work. 

Madagascar 10 

We began work in Madagascar at the request of now deposed President Marc 

Ravalomanana, and built up a small team of local facilitators who can present in 

French and Malagasy. Work has come to a halt because of the 2009 coup. 

Malawi 5 

Home to one of our success stories, a company that regularly organizes 

workshops, and has tried, unsuccessfully, to help identify new local organizing 

partners. We are exploring options for increasing engagement. 

Lesotho 5 

Combination of work with very old partners from HRD Project workshops and 

in connection with a regional partner. 

Botswana 5 A focus country for a regional partner. 

Germany 4 Workshops for people/organizations with a SADC connection 

Swaziland 3 

Intermittent work with a very old partner: a Swazi consulting company that grew 

out of the early days of the SAFRI HRD Project. 

Tanzania 2 

Workshops held in connection with a regional partner. Tanzania is a “donor’s 

darling”, is receiving a lot of attention, and has proven a “difficult nut to crack” 

for a program not bringing along a lot of money. 

Mozambique 

Held a number of HRD Project workshops, but have not found a partner with 

0 whom to make an entry with J2Ex. 

Zambia 

Work during HRD Project was very challenging. Have not found a partner with 

0 whom to make an entry with J2Ex. 

DRC 

Concern for personal safety and reports of widespread corruption, as well as lack 

0 of a local partner have led to very low prioritization. 

Angola 

Very high financial and language hurdles to entering the market. Partners are 

0 currently being sought. 

Mauritius 0 Not targeted due to low relative need. 

Seychelles 0 Not targeted due to low relative need. 

TOTAL 69 

4. The SAFRI HRD Project: early phases of the program, and lessons learned along the way 

( 14 Mapili) 

The SAFRI HRD Project, which ran from 1998-2005, focused on promoting entrepreneurship, 

competitiveness, regional integration and trade through the development and upgrading of 

entrepreneurial skills and organizational performance excellence in small and medium enterprises 

(SMEs) in SADC. Since so many projects were being centred on South Africa, and because we 

quickly developed a strategic partnership with the South African Excellence Foundation (SAEF), we 

put most of our energy into other SADC countries. 

The SAFRI HRD Project coincided to a great extent with the partnership with SAEF and the use of the 

South African Excellence Model and its public domain version, the SADC Quality Model in our work. 

The Model served, almost from the beginning, as the organizing force in what were known as “SAFRI 


Entrepreneurs' Workshops”. SAEF was our sustainability plan: it would focus first for promoting 

organizational excellence in South Africa, and then follow our footsteps into the region. 

Though it was not done implicitly at the time, the SAFRI HRD Project can be divided into four 

general, sometimes overlapping, phases, named here for the major activity or new development during 

that time period. 

1. Phase 1, 1998-99: Entering Foreign Markets 

2. Phase 2, 2000-01: Excellence – the Key to Competitiveness 

3. Phase 3, 2002-03: The Road to Excellence 

4. Phase 4, 2004-05: Entrepreneurial Mentoring 

4.1 Phase 1, 1998-1999: "Entering Foreign Markets" 

The SAFRI HRD Project kicked off with a workshop/conference “SAFRI and the Promotion of 

Entrepreneurial Skills in SADC” held in May, 1998 in Namibia. It focused on analysing 

entrepreneurs’ needs in relation to what SAFRI could potentially offer. Representatives of southern 

African business organizations (Chambers of Commerce and etc.), the SADC Secretariat, the World 

Bank, and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and German NGOs active in relevant areas in the 

region attended. 

Out of this we developed the concept of Entrepreneurs' Workshops. With an eye to promoting 

regionalisation via cross border trade, we settled on the theme Entering Foreign Markets. Germany is 

an export powerhouse, and the idea was to help SMEs understand export markets and the associated 

opportunities and challenges - partially by sharing German export experience. The program was 

developed with the assistance of a German technical college that specialises in export. Presenters 

were all affiliated with German companies active in the region, or Germans working in the region. 

The first two Entrepreneurs' Workshops were held in 1999 in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Partners 

included the national Chamber of Commerce organizations, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, 

and in Mozambique, the Southern African Enterprise Network (SAEN), a small organization of "new 

generation African entrepreneurs”. 

These workshops took place shortly after the founding of the South African Excellence Foundation 

(SAEF), which was modelled after the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The 

South African Excellence Model (similar to the EFQM Excellence Model) and the concept of Self- 

Assessment were introduced in plenary and further explored in working groups. These ideas caught 

the interest of participating entrepreneurs in both countries. 

In Mozambique, the attending entrepreneurs surprised us at the close of the workshop with a formal 

declaration of their intention of creating a Mozambican Excellence Foundation. Unfortunately, in 

early 2000, Mozambique was hit by devastating floods. The entrepreneurs that had been working on 

creating an excellence foundation diverted their energies to disaster relief, and the momentum for 

development of a foundation seeped away with the flood waters. 

Major political difficulties contributed: existing government organizations didn't want to see an 

excellence foundation established because they felt that its proposed activities fell within their area of 

responsibility. In the end, the entrepreneurs turned their efforts to improving the business climate in 

the country by engaging the government in dialogue at the top level 

Lessons learned: 

• The choice of partners is crucial. Business organizations such as Chambers of Commerce were 

not able to perform at the level needed for a successful workshop. Our most fruitful cooperation 

was with SAEN. 

• Workshop content must be relevant to participants now, not at some undefined time in the 


future. People want help with today's challenges, not tomorrow’s. 

4.2 Phase 2, 2000-2001: "Excellence – the Key to Competitiveness" 

In reviewing our experiences in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, we concluded that the basic format was 

effective and successful. SME entrepreneurs like to come together in nice surroundings and talk about 

business with respected colleagues from near and far. 

It was clear, however, that we could better meet entrepreneurs' needs by making the content more 

immediately relevant. Some of our participants had MBAs from very reputable universities. Some 

were "seat of the pants" entrepreneurs with no formal business education, but lots of "on-the-job" 

experience. We needed to find a less academic, more "real world" approach that would engage 

participants with heterogeneous business experience and various levels of formal business education. 

I thought that the South African Excellence Model, as implemented in a questionnaire approach to 

Self-Assessment being developed by people with DaimlerChrysler South Africa and SAEF, might 

offer a solution, and developed a two-pronged strategy to take the idea forward: 

• Train strategically placed people on the Model—people who were in a position to continue 

“spreading the word” by including organizational performance excellence in their curricula 

and/or private consulting offerings. 

• Find and recognize role model businesses and entrepreneurs. Assessment would be done using 

the Model. 

DaimlerChrysler sponsored two complementary activities during this phase, but implementation 

proved challenging: 

• A high level staff position at SAEF specifically for the development of SME training. This 

person was included in SAFRI HRD activities and SAEF training. 

- Unfortunately, he was completely unable to meet the challenge and his contract 

was terminated. 

• The Juergen E. Schrempp – SAFRI Award for Excellence. The award was designed especially 

to recognise excellent SADC SMEs outside South Africa (which was developing its own award 

program). 

- It was an idea ahead of its time. There was a complete dearth of candidates with the 

requisite levels of excellence to be recognised in an internationally-benchmarked 

competition – especially amongst black-owned SMEs. 

Five Entrepreneurs' Workshops were held in 2000-2001: in Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa, 

Lesotho, and Mozambique. Each was attended by about 30 local entrepreneurs, all of whom 

completed a Self-Assessment of their organizations in the course of the workshop. South Africanbased 

German executives dominated the facilitation teams, but a small corps of local trainers was 

being groomed to continue with the work. 

During this phase, increasing use was made of Self-Assessment and Assessor training for 

entrepreneurs. Of those who attended pre-workshop training, the most promising companies were 

assisted in follow up activities, i.e. implementation of changes in their business resulting from the self 

assessment and identification of key performance gaps. In return, they prepared case studies and 

presented these at the workshops. 

These exercises repeatedly highlighted the inappropriateness of the SAEF Self-Assessment and 

Assessor training (modelled on EFQM training of the same name) for our – and the entrepreneurs' - 

needs. Though it had long been promised, SAEF's efforts to develop SME-appropriate training were 

way behind schedule, and what had been produced was not up to our needs or expectations. By this 

time the SAFRI HRD Project had more directly relevant experience than anyone else, so I began SME 

training module development in late 2001. 



• We needed a mass market instrument – a training course appropriate for SME owners and 

managers - that would enable us and others to bring the model to more people. SAFRI 

Entrepreneurs' Workshops could only reach the tip of a huge iceberg. 

• We needed to address the issue of follow up after training/workshops. People reported making 

good starts at implementing improvements, but then “falling off the boat” after a few weeks. 

4.3 Phase 3, 2002-2003: "The Road to Excellence" 

During the development of the new training module, The Road to Excellence, we invited input from 

entrepreneurs and trainers with whom we had worked in the past. I guided, and then finalised, the 

structuring and content of the course and prepared the trainers manual in outcome based training 

format. A training-of-trainers course for the presentation of the new module was held in August, 

2002. All participants had “come up” through our program. All were SAEF-certified Assessors, and 

most had been trained by SAEF to the level of Executive Facilitator. 

Testing began immediately, and results were very positive. We were thrilled to see participants 

"getting it", i.e. understanding the logic behind the model. They spoke of eye-opening experiences. 

This was a major breakthrough. The combination of the user-friendly SADC Quality Model (or 

SAEM) Questionnaire and Workbook and Road to Excellence (RtE) training finally gave us what we 

needed to reach more SMEs than would ever have been possible through the high profile 

Entrepreneurs’ Workshops alone. 

Whereas an Entrepreneurs’ Workshop required a major investment of time, effort and money, RtE 

could be run for up to 15 participants with a single trainer, and was therefore much more cost 

effective. Interestingly, we discovered that the RtE also worked well in a corporate environment. 

DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA) adopted the program immediately, and a whole team of young 

managers was trained to present the Road to Excellence module for in-house use. Unfortunately, the 

DCSA CEO, who had been a major supporter of our work, was later transferred to Germany, and his 

successor discontinued the in-house program. The very great majority of DCSA people trained 

through the program subsequently left the company. 

The Schrempp Award 

The Schrempp Award process remained very challenging in 2002. Even the most sophisticated SMEs 

needed significant assistance to prepare for, and then put together, an award application. Lots of 

money went into administration, promotion, assessment and site visits, but the results were thin. No 

company even came close to the internationally benchmarked threshold for Award level. We had an 

award, but no award winners. 

On the positive side, we found that working with the companies in a mentoring relationship produced 

good results. In 2003, the final year of its funding, the Schrempp Award was therefore transformed 

into The Juergen E. Schrempp – SAFRI Award for Excellence Mentorship Program. Practically 

speaking, this meant that the available funding was focused more on mentoring the companies than on 

assessment, and the emphasis was no longer placed on getting an award, but on progressing as a 

company. There was still an assessment, though, based on a completed SADC QM questionnaire. 

All companies that completed the process were recognised for their "Dedication to Excellence". The 

participating companies were honoured at the 2003 international SAFRI Entrepreneurs' Workshop, 

where the CEOs/MDs and some of their top managers acted as resource people. 


• The training success of the Road to Excellence module is very positive, but it does not solve two 

issues: 

- Post workshop action plan implementation by entrepreneurs was often weak 

- The trainers we had trained were not presenting RtE workshops on their own. SME 

entrepreneurs have a basic unwillingness to invest in training and consulting. This made 


it very hard for local consultants to sell training on the open market without the support 

of some kind of SME promotion funding. 

• Mentoring is more effective than anything else we have seen when it comes to ensuring follow 

through after Self-Assessment. 

• The mentoring process needs to be carefully defined and monitored, and appropriate measures 

of success developed. 

4.4 Phase 4, 2004-2005: Entrepreneurial Mentoring 

Mentoring was positioned at the heart of our work. In preparation for 2004 activities, a mentoring 

program handbook was developed that clearly outlined the mentoring process, explained expectations 

and participation requirements in a Terms of Reference, and provided templates for consensus finding, 

action plans, weekly reports, mid term reports, and case studies. A monitoring process was set up and 

used to track progress. 

The Mentoring Cycle: charting and following a course to sustainable Excellence 

The Road to Excellence, initially the name given to the training program, slowly became synonymous 

with an entire process: the path taken by an organization striving for excellence within the framework 

of the SAFRI HRD Project. Road to Excellence (RtE) training, mentoring, and Excellence - the Key to 

Competitiveness (EKC) Entrepreneurs' Workshops were aligned and created a cycle that organizations 

could follow: 

1. EKC Workshops, with their exclusive positioning, were offered to entrepreneurs, MDs and 

CEOs. Resource people were primarily top executives from companies that have completed one 

mentoring cycle, augmented by special guests (the German connection). 

2. During the Workshop, resource people made model-centric presentations and led small working 

groups. Participants completed a Self-Assessment of their business using the questionnaire, 

prepared a preliminary action plan to address their key improvement opportunities, and learned 

about the mentorship program. 

3. Those interested in bringing their company into the process could make arrangements for 

training to be held for their entire management team. They were encouraged to invite other 

companies to join them in order to reduce costs, as these had to be carried by the participating 

companies. 

4. Road to Excellence training was held for management teams. Upon successful completion, the 

company head could immediately apply for admission to the mentorship program. 

5. Upon acceptance, the trainer/mentor began work with the individual management team. The 

teams prioritised improvement opportunities, and prepared action plans to address them. The 

action plans had weekly deliverables that were to be reported/discussed with the mentor in 

weekly e-mail / telephone contact. 

6. After 8-12 months, they prepared a simple case study to be presented by the company head at an 

Entrepreneurs' Workshop. Post mortem discussions are held on how the process can be 

improved, and the next cycle began - with improvements in place. 

Mentor development 

We tried repeatedly, and often not terribly successfully, to work not only with "virtual" long-distance 

mentors, but also with local ones. The often-encountered perception that “quality comes from abroad” 

was surely part of the problem: if you are an entrepreneur in a small southern African country, you 

find it much more impressive to have a mentor from big South Africa than to have one from your own 

country, or even from a small neighbouring country. On the flip side of the same coin, it was, and 

remains, very hard to find local mentors. 

2004 Workshops 

In 2004, national workshops were held in Swaziland and Zimbabwe. An international workshop in 

South Africa once again served as the recognition platform for companies that participated in the 


year's mentorship program. During that workshop, "way forward" discussions held with executives 

from mentee companies. They agreed that they needed to become more active in promoting business 

excellence, and committed themselves to seeking new companies well-suited to the mentorship 

program for 2005, and to help organise Road to Excellence training for them. They also suggested a 

"benchmarking trip to Germany", which became reality for three entrepreneurs. 

Distinctions blur between workshops and training 

In SAFRI HRD Project parlance we used the word “workshop” to denote the big, high profile 

“Entrepreneurs’ Workshops, and the word “training” to refer to Road to Excellence interventions. 

Over time this distinction became irrelevant, and we now refer to all of our facilitator-led events that 

bring together a group of people to learn and network, as workshops. 

Lessons learned (and re-learned): 

• Mentors must be carefully developed. Not all good trainers are good mentors. 

• Local mentors are very useful, but finding, training and mentoring them is a huge challenge 

(that for the most part exceeds our financial means) 

• Depending entirely upon current mentee companies to identify and win new companies and 

organise training is not a successful strategy. Some are good at it, many aren't. 

4.5 2005: Tectonic movements change the game 

Two major changes occurred within a short span of each other in 2005: 

• The South African Excellence Foundation "disintegrated", and 

• SAFRI Chairman Juergen E. Schrempp resigned as Chairman of the Board of Management of 

DaimlerChrysler AG. 

The SAFRI HRD Project had positioned SAEF as the organization that would carry on with its work 

on the longer term. With its collapse (a subject worthy of a paper in itself, but strongly connected with 

issues of race, politics and skills gaps) the plan for the sustainability of our work also collapsed. 

On top of that, Prof. Schrempp's resignation from his DCAG position led to all HRD Project activities 

being frozen for more than half a year during the reorganization and re-prioritisation introduced by his 

successor. 

5. The SAFRI Journey to Excellence (J2Ex) Program 

Convinced that there was a need - and a market - for the kind of program described here, I used the 

months of “down time” following Prof. Schrempp’s retirement to: 

• register a new company, Mapili GmbH (GmbH is approximately equivalent of a (Pty) Ltd.) 

( 5 Mapili), 

• qualify as an EFQM Excellence Award assessor, 

• develop a new EFQM Excellence Model-based workbook, and 

• apply the lessons learned from my SAFRI experience to develop the Journey to Excellence 

Program. 

No longer tied to the regionally limiting SADC Quality Model, but affiliated with the EFQM 

Excellence Model ( 15 EFQM), a global benchmark, the Program could now be used anywhere in the 

world. My initial focus, however, was on filling the organizational excellence gap in southern Africa. 

On this basis, I was given the opportunity to continue with SAFRI in 2006. SAFRI adopted the use of 

the Journey to Excellence Program on a non-exclusive basis under the name “SAFRI Journey to 

Excellence Program”. Whereas I had previously focused on organization, curriculum development and 

empowerment of a team of local trainers and mentors, I was now a one woman show with a very small 

budget and some very big challenges. 


The first Journey to Excellence Workshop was held in Lesotho in August of 2006. Six more followed 

in the next 4 months. All were 3-day workshops in which participating management teams conducted 

EFQM-based Self-Assessments of their organizations at a fairly high level of rigour. This is the 

workshop, initially called J2Ex Level 3, that became the Striving for Excellence workshop once 

program expansion exceeded initial plans. 

Participating company sizes varied from 1-1200 employees. There was not a formal mentoring 

program due to lack of funding, but in many cases follow-up meetings were held on site with 

participating management teams in the days following the workshops to help them individual teams 

develop their action plans beyond the point possible in the workshops. 

Hugely increased agility is perhaps the major benefit derived from the loss of the South African 

Excellence Foundation as our main partner. With my company, Mapili GmbH, now the owner of the 

curriculum, I could quickly expand the Journey to Excellence Program to better meet user needs. In 

March of 2007, the next new Journey to Excellence Workshop was presented: Committed to 

Excellence (initially known as J2Ex Level 2). Still explicitly Model-centric, it was based on a 

simplified Self-Assessment questionnaire, and proved its use with both less sophisticated SMEs and 

mid-level corporate managers. 

By late 2007 the Program’s future center of gravity was crystallizing: we moved increasingly toward 

workshops focusing on strategic alignment and planning. First came “Strategic Alignment”, and then, 

in 2008, a workshop for “individuals wanting to lead an enterprising life”, called Take Charge!. By 

2009, Take Charge! had developed into two separate workshops: Take Charge of Your Life! and Take 

Charge of Your Business!. 

There are now seven possible points for beginning the Journey. These are divided into two contiguous 

and intertwined programs, Preparing to Excel and Assessing Excellence. Both are flanked by 

supporting workshops designed to help businesses and organizations address the areas for 

improvement identified in the core programs (see www.mapili.com). 

The Journey to Excellence Program can be broken into two parts, with names coinciding with the 

program’s two core workshop series. The first year focused on “Assessing Excellence”, but we soon 

started moving into “Preparing to Excel”, and we have been working exclusively in this area since 

early 2009. 

5.1 The core Journey to Excellence Program 

Preparing to Excel 

Preparing to Excel series workshops are dedicated to helping businesses, organizations, and also 

individuals, take the first steps on their Journey to Excellence. They help individuals and 

management teams develop, implement and improve their strategic framework. 

• Take Charge of Your Life! (TCYL): For individuals wanting to lead an enterprising life: aspiring 

entrepreneurs, young people, new managers, etc. 

- Duration: 16 hours over 2 or 3 days. 

• Take Charge of Your Business! (TCYB): For entrepreneurs and management teams that see the 

need to introduce more structure into the way they do business. Multi-company workshop. 

- The workshop is also appropriate for individuals who have fairly detailed plans for 

starting a specific business. 

- Duration: 3 days. Best done residentially, as teams benefit from concentrated work on 

evening assignments. 

• Strategic Alignment (StratA): For those with a strategic framework in place. The first review for 

those who began with TCYB. The workshop can be used to prepare teams for Strategic Planning 

and/or Self-Assessment. Generally presented as a single company workshop. 

- This is not a strategic planning workshop, but can lead directly into one. 

- Duration: 2-3 days. Best done residentially, as teams benefit from concentrated work on 



• Strategic Planning (StratPlan): This workshop can either follow on a Strategic Alignment 

workshop, or incorporate its core content within the larger strategic planning framework. The 

workshop is customized for each company. 

- In line with the overall philosophy of the Journey to Excellence Program, we facilitate 

management teams in conducting their own strategic planning process. We do not do it 

for them. 

- Duration: 2-3 days. Best done residentially, as teams benefit from concentrated work on 


Assessing Excellence 

The Journey to Excellence Program engages entrepreneurs, MDs/CEOs and their management teams 

in a process that initiates a robust cycle of continuous improvement - if followed over time. As with 

any other journey, though, travellers want to know periodically how far they have progressed. The 

three levels of the Assessing Excellence program provide them with the means to measure their 

progress—always at a level of rigour appropriate to the organization’s level of maturity. 

All assessments are done by the managers/entrepreneurs themselves, using the EFQM Excellence 

Model, a globally respected management tool.( 15 EFQM) It enables them to very objectively and 

holistically assess their company’s performance excellence relative to good and best practices, 

determine strengths and areas for improvement, and identify key improvement opportunities. Their 

assessment results guide the planning and implementation of improvement activities, and initiate a 

cycle of continuous improvement. 

• Introduction to Excellence (I2Ex): For those with a solid strategic framework in place, who now 


want to grow, improve, and introduce cycles of continuous improvement to their business. For 

example: those who have consolidated the results of TCYB or StratA workshop and now aspire 

to reaching the next level, or simply for the entrepreneurially curious (who may then continue as 

is appropriate). 

- Duration: this presentation/workshop is highly customizable and can last from 2-16 

hours. Short presentations focus on theory, whereas the 2 day version ends with 

participants preparing action plans. 

• Committed to Excellence (C2Ex): For organizations with well-established strategic frameworks 

that are ready to challenge the status quo. Participants will ideally have completed the Strategic 

Alignment workshop and implemented resulting improvements. 

- Duration: 3 days in residence. Teams must work together on evening assignments. 

- Designed to be followed by C2Ex part two, which entails 2-3 days spent on site with 

action plan teams. 

• Striving for Excellence (S4Ex): For businesses and other organizations seriously aspiring to 

becoming world class. Participating businesses / organizations must have at least a moderate 

level of organizational maturity and sustainability and a well-entrenched dedication to 

excellence. 

- Duration: 3 days in residence. Teams must work together on evening assignments. 

- Designed to be followed by S4Ex part two, which entails 2-3 days spent on site with 

action plan teams. 

5.2 Observations and Experiences 

The Challenges of Mentoring 

The J2Ex workshops described here end with participants preparing Improvement Activity Charters 

and Action Plans. As described in this paper, experience has highlighted the advantages of 

implementing action plans within the framework of a mentoring relationship. As one manager told 

me: “Our mentor kept us motivated when the going got rough and we were tempted to give up.” 

Mentoring generally takes place in a yearly cycle. Multiple cycles may be needed to anchor new 

mindsets. 

In the traditional sense, mentoring is a relationship in which an older, more experienced and/or skilled 


person helps a younger, less experienced / skilled person develop and grow. Whenever possible, we 

work within the scope of a facilitated mentoring program that is designed to: 

• create effective mentoring relationships, 

• guide the desired behavior and organizational change of those involved, and 

• evaluate the results for the mentees, their mentors, and the sponsors. 

Business or entrepreneurial mentoring has become fashionable, with countless organizations offering 

mentoring programs. In my experience in southern Africa, very few are well conceived and deliver 

results. 

In one SADC country, for example, I worked with 2 national government organizations that have large 

“mentoring” programs for MSMEs. They use the term to cover everything from consulting to 

coaching, but did not really offer anything that was in line with our use of the word. Skills gaps, 

combined with the perceived low pay and low prestige connected with consulting for such agencies, 

resulted in low program performance (expressed, for example, in the low collection rate on loans). 

More than one local consultant admitted to only working with the agencies when no other work was 

available. 

In conjunction with a regional partner, a three-pronged program, designed to upskill the organizations 

themselves, the business consultants “mentors” with whom they worked, and MSMEs, was 

implemented. 

Early in the program, I led a Strategic Alignment (StratA) workshop for about 20 business consultants 

who had been recommended by the organizations—development finance institutions—as people wellsuited 

to be trained as J2Ex facilitators and business mentors. During interviews, candidates 

characterized themselves as “mentor”, “strategic turnaround specialist”, “highly experienced business 

consultant”, etc. 

Their initial task was to complete the StratA workshop on the basis of their own consulting business, 

use the results to prepare action plans, implement these within a mentored framework, and then train 

to mentor MSMEs through a similar process in connection with the less sophisticated Take Charge of 

Your Business! workshop. Though participants were generally familiar with the terminology used— 

things like vision, mission, values, critical success factors, goals, measures, indicators, PEST, SWOT, 

action plan—many were unable to effectively put them to use in their own real-world setting. 


In addition, we encountered major problems with the quality and timeliness of progress reports, and 

the ability to explain even simple concepts to others, i.e. entrepreneurs. In parallel, the highly 

bureaucratic local organizations did not see the need to take ownership and empower their own people 

to require the requisite levels of delivery from their consultants, the mentors-in-training. 

Ultimately, a small number of good mentors developed, achieving, in conjunction with their own 

development, some respectable results with the entrepreneurs they were mentoring. Three of them 

formed a new company with which both SAFRI and Mapili GmbH signed MOUs regarding future 

cooperation. The fourth person to qualify to that level is currently considering joining them. 

That cooperation itself is positive, but not without challenges. Our MOU partners are not 

demonstrating near the level of entrepreneurial energy we had hoped. Instead of acquiring work by 

leveraging the partnership, there is a decided tendency to simply wait for work to be sent their way. 

Figure 10: Types of local organizing partners and observations on each 

Types of organising partners Observations and challenges Potential 

Local consultants 

Mixed results. Vary widely in levels of professionalism and 

qualifications. Often have very narrow qualifications and are 

not comfortable with a holistic approach such as ours. Very 

challenging, but success is a prerequisite for sustainability. 

H 

A regional organization itself mandated to 

empower others. (Had significant own 

financing. SAFRI sponsorship complemented 

Mapili GmbH consulting) 

National development finance agencies - 

dev. banks and MSME promotion 

agencies 

Local businesses (African and German 

businesses in Africa) 

Very well positioned , but subject to its own skills gaps, and 

hindered by both bureaucratic structures within which it works 

and inconsistent financing. 

Generally good partners in theory, but in practice hampered 

by own skills gaps. 

Very positive results, for example with companies that upskill 

own staff with TCYL, do StratA with own mgmt, and 

introduce new companies. An SME customer development 

project is in development with a commercial bank, and a 

supplier development program is in discussion with a large 

German company. 

M 

M 

H 

Large parastatal enterprises 

Very challenging. Not the best value for money for SAFRI 

investment due to bureaucratic structures. 

L 

Chambers of commerce In general very ineffectual partners. Big internal skills gaps. L 

A national leadership institute Positive until it was sacked in Madagascar’s political coup L 

Junior Achievement, an NGO that 

promotes entrepreneurship amongst 8-25 

yr. olds 

NGOs in general 

Very positive. Cooperation in place in South Africa and 

Namibia, relationship under development in Zimbabwe. 

Though estimates of the size of their investment vary widely, 

( 16 Shaw), NGOs play important roles in Africa’s development. 

There is good potential for various types of cooperation, 

ranging from empowering the NGOs themselves to more 

professionally deliver on mandates aligned with our goals, to 

cooperating on joint projects. One such project is in progress. 

H 

M 

Tertiary institutions & student leaders Mixed experience, good potential M 


6. Ways forward 

As outlined earlier, our overarching strategy is to work in conjunction with local and international 

partners in SADC to offer an excellent, user-centered program for developing entrepreneurial skills 

and improving competitiveness. 

6.1 Partners 

Partners fall into two broad, sometimes overlapping, categories: 

• service providers and 

• organizational partners. 

Service providers 

Though we have emphasized training of local facilitators and mentors from the early days of the 

program, there was minimal carry-over between the Road to Excellence and the Journey to 

Excellence. Post 2005 budget cuts severely limited SAFRI funding for local facilitators and mentors. 

There was no money with which to upskill a new team on the EFQM Excellence Model. 

This bottleneck eased significantly with the introduction of the Preparing to Excel Series workshops, 

as entry level knowledge requirements for facilitators and mentors were much lower. In fact, some of 

the earliest new facilitators were not business consultants at all. In Madagascar we had a medical 

doctor, an English teacher, and an entrepreneur in the facilitation team. Our cooperation was 

unfortunately brought to an end with Madagascar’s coup, and its suspension from SADC. 

Though TCYB facilitators are taken from the ranks of business consultants, TCYL facilitators need 

not have that kind of background. I see huge growth potential with young TCYL facilitators reaching 

out to the region’s legions of young people. This may well be where we make the largest impact. 

High potential local / regional organizing partners 

We have worked with a broad variety of local / regional organizing partners in SAFRI’s J2Ex 

Program. Types, comments and potential for future cooperation can be seen in Figure 10. 

In parallel with our work with local service providers, and in line with our strategy of working in 

conjunction with local and regional partners with congruent goals and direct access to potential 

program participants, we are moving forward with the sharpest focus on the partners identified as 

having high potential in Figure 10: 

• businesses with an interest in developing other businesses, and 

• Junior Achievement. 

Junior Achievement (JA) is a well-established international NGO with systems and curriculum in 

place. We add value as the local leadership sees best. In Namibia this has been to offer workshops for 

outstanding performers from around the country. In South Africa next intervention will be with its 

national Youth Council (mid October, 2010). The potential return on investment is high when 

working with JA, as those involved are enterprising, and have long careers ahead of them. 

Businesses can be exciting partners. Though there are skills gaps, there is a noticeable difference in 

mindset between managers in businesses, and those in parastatals or government-related organizations 

such as development finance institutions. Partnerships with companies fall into 3 main types: 

• Those that have been on “Journeys” for a number of years, and return regularly to review 

progress · (via strategic workshops) and upskill their people and those of partner businesses (via 

TCYL), 

- These tend to be local medium sized companies 

• Those whose primary interest is upskilling their people and businesses in their supply chain 

- These tend to be German companies 

• A major African bank that sees co-sponsoring J2Ex workshops as a way to develop its customer 


ase 

- Whereas experiences with parastatal banks were sometimes very challenging, a 

recently launched partnership with this commercial bank began very well, and is 

looking quite promising. 

High potential local / regional organizing partners 

While our focus is currently elsewhere, given the sheer size of the market, government supported 

MSME development agencies cannot be ignored. Work with them tends to be very frustrating and 

time-consuming, however, as their self-images and aspirations are at odds with the levels of 

organizational excellence one experiences when interacting with them. 

Despite their mandates to promote MSME development, very few people I have encountered in such 

organizations had even worked in the private sector, much less run a business. Fresh university 

graduates find themselves on the front lines, tasked with advising entrepreneurs and those who want or 

need to start a business. Needless to say, they are not optimally prepared for the tasks at hand. 

In such cases, the organizations’ needs far outstrip our ability to address them—from a financial 

standpoint. Massive improvements in entire support structures are required. Working with such 

organizations becomes a viable option if they bring along own financing for much of the work to be 

done. 

Tertiary institutions and student groups both offer good potential, but a good fit of partners is 

necessary. 

6.2 To what extent are we achieving our goal of increasing the numbers, and competitiveness, of 

enterprises in SADC? 

Paradoxically, I am convinced that the lack of tightly-defined measures of success was a strength of 

the early program. We had a lot to learn, and were able to implement improvements quickly. We were 

able to pursue the meaningful, not just that which would contribute to achievement of pre-defined 

targets. It allowed us to search for the niche in which we could get the best possible results on 

investment 

All of the lessons learned in the first phase of SAFRI’s interventions were fed into the development of 

the Journey to Excellence Program. Though financial limitations were more stringent than before, the 

overall situation was more supportive of innovation and creativity. 

• Degree to which workshop / mentoring program participants achieve the goals set out in their 

action plans. 

• Level of satisfaction in the program indicated in feedback forms 

• Numbers of workshops and participants (which is linked with partnerships) 

• Number of mentors and facilitators qualified through the program 

Degree to which program participants achieve the goals set out in their action plans. 

Though we do not have complete coverage, I am improving the follow-up on workshop participants, 

be they companies or individuals. Documentation is being done by interview, when possible, captured 

on video. Results are very positive, for example: 

• “We have tripled our turnover since the workshop” and “We now have our supplier relations 

under control”. 

• “I have now started my business, and it is making good progress.” 

• “I’m now a serious entrepreneur!” 


Figure 11: Journey to Excellence Workshops 

held with SAFRI support since 2006. 

The table features: 

• Nr.: a running count of the number of 

workshops since 2006 

• Yr. Nr.: annual count of workshops 

• Type: workshop type 

• Days: length of workshop 

• Pax: number of participants 

• # Units: this reflects the number of discreet 

“units” addressed: this is the number of 

companies or organizations that 

participated, OR, in the case of TCYL 

workshops, the number of participants. 

Facilitation effort is strongly tied to the 

number of “units” being addressed: a 

workshop with three companies 

participating with a total of 20 individuals 

will require less facilitation effort than a 

workshop with 6 individuals, as the 

facilitator must address each “unit”, be it a 

company or an individual. I believe this 

number is a very important indicator, as it 

reflects the number of current and 

(potential) future businesses addressed by 

the program. 

TCYL and TCYB have become the most popular 

workshops by far. Follow-up interviews with both 

companies and individuals show that good results 

are being achieved as a result of the workshops. 

All workshops except TCYL are generally 

accompanied by one or two days spent making 

site visits to participating companies. Repeat 

visits to a country are also used to make follow-up 

visits to earlier participants. 

For many, but not all workshops, I am assisted by 

one or more assistant facilitators. In future, when 

assistant facilitators have acquired licenses, they 

will be able to facilitate workshops on their own, 

in some cases with SAFRI support. 


Level of satisfaction in the program indicated in feedback forms 

Feedback forms are anonymously completed and collected at the end of each workshop. Comments 

are read and contribute to the continuous improvement of facilitation and workbooks. Levels of 

satisfaction are consistently very high. 

Numbers of workshops and participants 

By the end of 2010 there will have been 69 SAFRI-supported workshops since the program was 

introduced in 2006. The level of support varies 

• from sponsorship of my flights and the workbooks, to 

• all of my expenses, workbooks, and fees for assistant facilitators. 

This is negotiated for each workshop separately, and is correlated with ability to pay. Our guiding 

philosophy is “That which has no price has no value.” 

The target number of workshops for 2010 was 16. The actual number will be 20. 

Numbers vary from year to year, and are strongly linked to active partnerships. If partners are able to 

put significant own finances into cooperative efforts, the numbers of both workshops and participants 

go up. My contract with SAFRI is for part time work. If I have additional consulting in the region, the 

numbers also go up, as I leverage contacts and proximity to organize SAFRI supported workshops. 

This, for example, is the driver behind high numbers in 2008. In 2009 a key partner failed to get 

financing as expected, and numbers went down. 

In 2010, we no longer counted on that partner, but rather developed new ones, and reinvigorated old 

ones. We will be ending the year with record numbers of both workshops and “units”. “Units”, as 

explained in Figure 11, are a potentially very important measure in the future: the more discreet units, 

be they companies or individuals, the greater the potential for successful entrepreneurial activity. 

With the introduction of the easy to organise TCYL, workshop numbers went up, average numbers of 

participants went down (it has the lowest participant/facilitator ratio, being the most intense per person 

to facilitate), but “unit” numbers went way up. 

Number of mentors and facilitators qualified through the program 

• Four mentors are able to work at a level I would use in consulting assignments. 

• 1 business consultant can be licensed to present both TCYL and TCYB, but has not yet bought 

the licenses. 

• Four business consultants are on track to qualify for TCYB licensing. This could easily be 

expanded to include TCYL. 

• Three people are in training as TCYL facilitators. 

• Three people were trained to present TC (TCYL) workshops in Madagascar. They need followup, 

but this is hindered by the current political situation. 

• About 10 people from companies that have been “on the Journey” for a while are able to assist 

with TCYL, and have done so in conjunction with workshops organized by their companies for 

staff and suppliers/customers. 

The numbers are not high, but each person requires individual attention and workshops within which 

s/he develops and demonstrates her/his skills. In 2011 I will focus on 

• getting the TCYB and TCYL facilitators currently in the pipeline qualified and licensed, 

• on identifying and building up the next generations of TCYL and TCYB facilitators. 


In closing 

SAFRI has now been engaging with entrepreneurs in SADC for over 14 years. In this age of short 

term projects and goals, that in itself is unusual. The sponsoring company has undergone massive 

changes—from Daimler-Benz, through DaimlerChrysler, to Daimler—while still continuing support, 

thanks, of course, to SAFRI Chairman (and ex Daimler-Benz and DaimlerChrysler Chairman) Juergen 

E. Schrempp. 

During that time, the conventional borders of corporate social responsibility projects were redefined: 

moving well beyond traditional short term and directly self-serving activities. From the very 

beginning it took the long view, seeking to prepare the ground for future growth and development in 

the region. 

Already in 2006 ( 14 Mapili), I wrote that the long life and flexibility of the project had been a great 

advantage, allowing for continuous learning, review and improvement. Freed from the limitations of 

working with SAEF, the program has blossomed - and that within much greater financial constraints 

than before. 

SAFRI has a four year horizon. I believe that we are now poised to move to a new level with SAFRI’s 

Journey to Excellence Program, driven primarily by demand for the TCYL and TCYB programs and 

business mentoring. There is huge potential for the J2Ex Program to be a significant motor for 

development. 

All the same, African Journeys to Excellence remain hugely challenging. Playing fields are not even, 

and the "enabling environment" found in many other parts of the world is often simply not there: 

• the entrepreneurial tradition so taken for granted in many societies - a culture in which 

entrepreneurs are highly respected members of the community 

• a local business community in which appropriate role models can easily be found 

• a prevalence of mental horizons that extend beyond tomorrow and the next hill 

• a good basic level of education in the society 

• a supportive legal environment. 

The battle must therefore be fought on two fronts: first in people's minds, and then on the ground. By 

taking charge of their lives and their businesses, people are building foundations upon which they can 

develop a sustainable future. 


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