Melilizwe Gqobo

Today’s guest, Melilizwe Gqobo (he/him) - Founding Director of Hubspace (Khayelitsha) and Venture Scout, has successfully created space for founders and entrepreneurs to thrive by strengthening and reinforcing their capacity or ability to seek opportunities.With the hindsight of co-founding Hubspace, a pioneering startup ecosystem or incubator space to bring communal offices and resources to entrepreneurs and founders within the township economy, meaningfully contributing over 5% to South Africa’s GDP, Melilizwe shares key lessons and insights on what it takes to make a successful venture while highlighting examples from Bolt and Uber’s entry to the South African/African market.What's Covered On This Episode:0:00 - The Entrepreneurship and Founder Ecosystems1:23 - Founder Lessons and Challenges4:40 - Reasons why I became an Entrepreneur6:02 - The Opportunity Set – NGOs8:07 - Making a successful venture10:51 - Does First Mover Advantage Exist?12:50 - The Role of Enterprise Development14:51 - The Township Economy25:39 - The Importance of Patient Capital, Support, Routine and Mindset for Preservation32:57 - Allyship: Creating space and an intentional community38:29 - Innovation and AI46:17 - Wrap-up: Key TakeawaysRESOURCES:https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/04/397101933/far-from-silicon-valley-a-disruptive-startup-hubhttps://disruptafrica.com/2014/11/15/townships-offer-real-investment-opportunities-hubspace/https://www.news24.com/news24/partnercontent/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-township-economy-20230621https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multifaceted-approach-needed-deal-protection-fee-and-business-extortion-syndicates-ncop-hearshttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5reve8476oFollow Melilizwe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melilizwe-gqobo-6229a729/Thank you for listening, following and sharing the podcast. Did you love this episode? Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know.