Alex youth with sound business ideas could soon become business moguls plying their trade on the big business stage.

This is all thanks to Datacentrix and Hewlett Packard Enterprise who have joined forces to cultivate entrepreneurs in Alexandra in partnership with the Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Galxcoc).

The project, under the Galxcoc Digital Incubation Hub, aims to continue the ongoing efforts of the two companies of enabling economic development in the township that will seek to incubate small businesses and the youth with the hope of turning their business ideas into fully-fledged enterprises.

The hub which is a state-of-the-art facility based at Motsweding Skills Centre in Alexandra, was recently launched by the Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and hopes to foster the growth, development and entrepreneurial skills of the township youth and small businesses.

The hub and the business ideas that will be taken on-board are backed by Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), the Ecosystem Development for Small Enterprise programme and the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa.

“Broad economic growth and small business development are two areas that are highly dependent on an efficient, integrated and connected network of support platforms, such as these digital hubs and incubators,” said Datacentrix’s general manager for public sector sales, Billy Mabena, at the launch.

He said the project and the many others embarked upon by Seda and the Small Business Development department that aimed to provide small innovative digital start-ups with the required support, would have a significant impact in addressing the socio-economic challenges among the youth in the impoverished township.

The project will specifically target youth unemployment by assisting young entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital era. The Fourth Industrial Revolution presented a plethora of digital opportunities across all industries, Mabena said.

Mabena added Datacentrix had offered to assist where it could by providing ICT network infrastructure installation services and expertise for the hub.