On 18 October 2023, CeSTII and EEE held The Innovation and AI Skills Development event at Philippi Village. The event shared innovative tools and AI technologies aimed at propelling business growth for informal entrepreneurs. The workshop was designed to empower attendees with the knowledge and resources needed to optimise their operations and drive business success. The event provided a platform to introduce and test CeSTII’s Informal Business Innovation Toolkit which provides actionable steps for business development.

This session, titled “Mapping Your Own Pathway to Grow Your Business,” was led by Il-haam Petersen, Setsoheng Mayeki, and Nicole van Rheede. The event also meant to enhance AI literacy among entrepreneurs by showcasing the potential of AI tools in business planning and strategising.

During the second session, “AI Skills Development for Entrepreneurs,” Krish Chetty continued EEE’s ongoing AI Skills Development Roadshow and introduced AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Bard to assist with business planning. Attendees engaged in a group exercise where they created personalised business plans using these AI tools. Chetty also led a discussion about the potential concerns around AI, such as data privacy and job loss due to automation.

In attendance were the owners of entrepreneurial informal businesses from the Philippi Community, tenants of Philippi Village, and representatives from the City of Cape Town. Attendees received hands-on training with CeSTII’s toolkit and offered feedback for future refinements. They were also guided in using freely accessible AI tools on their devices, which might ‘level up’ their business, as one participant put it. In the future, the Roadshow will engage online with scholars from the African Leadership University in Rwanda and the University of Venda.

Watch the proceedings here: