Image: SuppliedIn today's business environment, a website is often the first point of contact between a business and its customers. Recognising the growing importance of digital visibility, the University of the Western Cape's Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) has helped aspiring and established entrepreneurs from the community take their businesses online through a practical website-building initiative that created 71 websites within minutes.
The initiative was delivered in partnership with Lekker.Build, a Cape Town start-up whose platform builds a business website from a simple chat. It saw entrepreneurs from UWC-supported programmes participate in two hands-on workshops where they built professional, mobile-friendly websites for their businesses without writing a single line of code. By simply describing their businesses in their own words, participants were able to create an online presence in minutes.
Small businesses, particularly those operating in township and community settings, benefit from having a website which can be a powerful tool for establishing credibility, increasing visibility and accessing new markets. The initiative reflects UWC's commitment to equipping entrepreneurs with the practical skills and digital tools needed to compete in an increasingly technology-driven economy.
According to Abraham Oliver, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the project aligns with the Centre's broader mission of supporting entrepreneurs through practical interventions that deliver measurable outcomes.
Image: Supplied"We need to level the playing ground. Our entrepreneurs need practical tools, not just theory. In two sessions, they built these 71 websites, each for their own businesses, and several kept improving them after the session ended. That is exactly the kind of practical toolkit we want every community SMME to leave with, to increase their visibility and credibility in the marketplace."
The website-building workshops formed part of the CEI's entrepreneurship support programmes, including the Unemployed Youth Entrepreneurship Programme funded by the Wholesale and Retail SETA (W&RSETA) and the Fellows Leadership and Mentoring Programme (FLMP). Participants represented a diverse range of businesses, from agriculture and manufacturing to wellness services and consulting.
Beyond creating websites, the initiative introduced entrepreneurs to digital tools that can help businesses reach customers, promote products and services, and strengthen their competitiveness in the marketplace.
For the start-up, the partnership highlights how emerging technologies can help remove traditional barriers to establishing an online presence.
"A website used to cost a small business thousands of rands and weeks of waiting. Through this programme offered by UWC, the owners built their own, in their own words, most of them in under ten minutes. Put the tools in the owners' hands and they run with them," said Anthony van Tonder, founder of Lekker.Build.
The partnership also extends additional support to outstanding programme participants. Through the W&RSETA-funded initiative, the top ten achievers receive a full year of online support that includes a .co.za domain, hosting, website editing capabilities, online payment functionality and business email accounts.
Oliver said, “The idea is to combine entrepreneurship education with practical digital skills to continue creating opportunities that help entrepreneurs translate ideas into sustainable businesses. The website-building initiative illustrates how targeted support, innovative technology and community-focused partnerships can help small businesses strengthen their presence in an increasingly digital economy.”
For inquiries, contact Anthony van Tonder on 083 742 5996.
