The isiZulu Launch of the Small Business Handbook
UmhlahlandlelaWamabhizinisiAmancane, the isiZulu version of the Small Business Handbook, will be launched in Durban on Thursday 7 December. Written by Nokwazi Mzobe, Founder of Matoyana Business Solutions, it will be available to the public in partnership with eThekwini Library and Heritage Services as well as P&G South Africa, who sponsored the translation of the book from English into isiZulu.
isiZulu is the mother tongue of over 22.7% South Africans and research shows that the number one barrier to comprehension for the majority black South Africans is being taught in English. Thus, the isiZulu Small Business Handbook has come into being, with the aim of is making knowledge more accessible to isiZulu speakers.
There is a great need for business concepts to be packaged in African languages and the isiZulu translation is a first of its kind. “Stats South Africa 2017 has pegged unemployment as 27%,” says Mzobe when asked why she wrote the book, “So how is it, that in the face of such frightening statistics, our education system is still designed to produce employees rather than creating entrepreneurs?”
The original Small Business Handbook, written in English, was conceived out of a need to find all the basic information about launching and running a sustainable business in one resource. Mzobe, an entrepreneur herself, combined the insights she gained from starting her own business as well as mentoring hundreds of business owners who’ve struggled to find relevant information. The response to the English version has been very positive, with the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Hlengiwe Mkhize, saying: “We need people who can help small business play the game and succeed. Nokwazi Mzobe and this book are doing so; taking businesses by the hand and helping them progress.” The isiZulu version is likely to be met with the same success.
UmhlahlandlelaWamabhizinisiAmancane will be launched at the eThekwini Library in the NSM Hall, 151 KE Masinga Road, with the entrance Wyatt Road. The eThekwini Municipality have very kindly offered their library as a venue saying, “We are pleased to be associated with such an event and the significance of literature being made available in an indigenous language (in this case IsiZulu) propelled eThekwini Municipal Libraries (EML) to partner with Matoyana Business Foundation. In this day and age, with the dire need for local economic development, libraries of eThekwini have also taken upon themselves to drive programmes that promote economic development.”
The book launch will be a breakfast event, beginning at 09h00 am. Guest speakers will be from the eThekwini Municipality, including Mrs Thobela Ngidi, Head of Libraries and Heritage Services; Mrs Khululiwe Mabaso and Mr Ntokozo Biyela, with the author on hand to sign copies. The book will also be available to order online from Matoyana, as well as a downloadable version via Snapplify, Lulu.com and Amazon, Kindle.
About the Small Business Handbook:
This book, written in English and isiZulu, is a resource tool which the business owner and aspiring entrepreneur can refer to for ideas on how to addressissues in business. Be it how to create an ethical business environment, through to understanding different business (revenue) model strategies.
Email: info@rocketpad.co.za
