GREEN BUSINESS ACUMEN SOUTH AFRICA

The 4-week training course was designed to guide participants through essential main points regarding green business development: from the early stages of defining and refining a green business idea, to the formalization, certification and expansion of a green business. The training was delivered online, mixing live webinars with tutors and specialists and online self-guided learning modules and materials. OBJECTIVES Th training capacity building for entrepreneurs that already are somehow green or are willing to make their business greener. The objective of this training was to augment skills development in the green economy in South Africa. CONTENT The training combined a wide variety of asynchronous learning elements on an online learning platform with four tutored webinars. The training was delivered by a multi-disciplinary faculty from the ILO, ITC-ILO, specialized business trainers and specialized agencies, and combined technical content with applied learning methodologies, such as group discussion and exercises. In particular, the participant covered the following topics during the training programme: • Climate change, green economy and the SDGs • Your green business idea: how to find it, screen it and move forward with it. • Your green business plan: why develop a business plan, which content to add, what are the steps to develop it. • The 5 Ps of marketing • How to go about digital transformation • Why formalize your business and how to do it • Principles and approaches for green business development: circular economy, cleaner production and life cycle management • Introduction to environmental certification • Introduction to green business pitch ACHIEVEMENT The participant has: • Acquired a deeper understanding of the context for green business development • Assessed the different steps and needs for business formalization and certification • Shared experiences and generated ideas regarding marketing promotion of their green business • Discussed approaches and familiarized themselves with tools to effectively support green businesses • Exchanged views with other South-African entrepreneurs and international experts