Envisioning entrepreneurial and adaptive graduates to changes in the world is what drives Dr Poppet Pillay, who is the Director of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE), situated at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) ML Sultan Campus.
Dr Pillay was recently recognised by DUT as being ‘one of the powerful women making an impact, pushing the boundaries of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.’
Her latest award recognises her as one of a group of women who are making an impression through their work. In 2019 the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CSERI) received the DUT Chancellor’s award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and in 2018 the CSE RI received the first runner-up award for business incubators at the SABIC conference in Johannesburg.
“It is really an honour to be recognised by DUT for the work I do. It is also very humbling to be part of a group of women whom I find so inspiring,” she said elatedly.
Dr Pillay has been instrumental in the establishment of the CSE at DUT in July 2015 through the partnership between DUT and the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD). In 2016, the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) took over the monitoring and evaluation of the nine Centres of Entrepreneurship in South Africa and the CSE had to adjust the business model to accommodate the SEDA incubation model.
For Dr Pillay, although she comes from a family involved in entrepreneurship, she was more interested in education and the arts. But when she served as the Skills Manager at Thekwini TVET College she was responsible for a number of training programmes, one of which was the SMME and cooperatives Financial Management training.
“The implementation of this project troubled me because we literally took people off the street to become SMMEs and cooperatives. After the training was complete, these people were directed to Ithala bank to obtain funding in order to start their businesses. Of course, very few received funding and it was no surprise that the failure rate of start-ups in South Africa exceeded 80%. This led to me embarking on a PhD through UKZN,” she said.
Dr Pillay said that she used the action research methodology and worked with a group of youths who were involved in programmes for Software and Network. As a result of the deep understanding she gained through her research, she developed a business model using a bottom-up strategy to support township and rural enterprises. The model was approved by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) to be implemented at DUT and it was the beginning of her journey in entrepreneurship development at DUT.
“In order to compete globally, South African entrepreneurs need to have a mindset that focuses on innovation as well as growth and expansion of their businesses. Some of the ways in which DUT is supporting students and driving the entrepreneurship and innovation agenda include a curriculum on entrepreneurship that is offered through the Management Faculty. Establishing two entrepreneurial desks in Durban and Midlands where students are exposed to the real world of entrepreneurship through a range of workshops, business mentorship and financial support, as well as the award-winning Enactus programme where students develop innovative social business start-ups with local communities,” she said.
Dr Pillay also said that the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator focuses on incubation and post-incubation support for students, alumni and community SMMEs in order to grow businesses and make them more sustainable. She said the setting up of a Maker Space is to provide a space for students and staff to develop innovation and prototypes across the different disciplines that will then have the opportunity of being commercialised through the support and mentorship of the CSERI and DUT Technology Stations.
“It also runs a Supplier Enterprise Development Programme with about 42 beneficiaries for Cataler South Africa, a business in the automotive sector,” she said.
Dr Pillay delved how COVID-19 has impacted on entrepreneurship, saying it has both a negative and a positive impact.
“From a negative perspective, many businesses folded. However, significant number of enterprises survived and grew because they understood the need to be flexible and to pivot their businesses. One of the biggest lessons from COVID-19 is that businesses must be able to adapt to unexpected changes in order to survive. It is important to be able to diversify and to become tech-savvy,” she said.
Dr Pillay believes that there are already so many women in South Africa who are making a huge impact even though they have not received any recognition for what they do. “Women in research, innovation and entrepreneurship need to keep pushing the boundaries in order to shape the future of our country in a positive way and to be role models for young girls,” she said.
Pictured: Dr Poppet Pillay
Waheeda Peters
