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Couplepreneurs: stirring legacies, one kidpreneur at a time!

02 January 2024 | Story Igno van Niekerk | Photo Igno van Niekerk

Dr Tafadzwa Maramura participated in a study on couplepreneurs and ways in which they influence their children to become better entrepreneurs.

After years of hard work, the lonely entrepreneur rode off into the sunset. No family. No one to share the lived experience with. The entrepreneurial journey can be a recipe for loneliness. However, it does not have to be, you can enjoy an entrepreneurial family that leaves a legacy.

Dr Tafadzwa C Maramura, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration and Management at the UFS participated in a study with Drs Eugine Maziriri (University of Johannesburg), Miston Mapuranga (University of Pretoria), Brighton Nyagadza (Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences) on couplepreneurs and ways in which they influence their children to become better entrepreneurs. The interinstitutional study drew on several fields of expertise and was a fresh addition to the research on access to water that Dr Maramura is doing.

Couplepreneurship is a concept that explains businesses owned and operated by married and/or cohabiting couples. According to Dr Maramura: “The development of couplepreneurship in South Africa as an emerging economy has led to increasing interest in the study of how kids are inspired and/or influenced by their parents towards starting their own and to participate in the already existing family enterprises.”

Nurturing entrepreneurial potential

Couplepreneurs are in a great position to raise kidpreneurs. Who better to listen to the heroic stories of how mom and dad started off with a big dream, growth mindsets, and steadfast commitment to building their business than their offspring? Like teaching a person how to fish rather than giving them fish, couplepreneurs do not hand their kids a business, they teach them how to run and grow a business.

Dr Maramura believes that nurturing an entrepreneurial potential is the result of “encouraging resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to embrace failure, even as a learning opportunity”. Combine this with an environment that promotes creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, and you have the recipe for a kidpreneur to become an entrepreneur. Now add more ingredients: parents who offer support, mentorship, and exposure to diverse experiences. Put it in the heated oven called business – and you have created the meal all entrepreneurs crave: Legacy.

News Archive

Discussion on decolonising the UFS draws international speakers

2017-11-07

During an insightful two days (27-28 October 2017), bright young minds and experienced thinkers came together at the University of the Free State (UFS) to engage in deep philosophical talks on the topic of decolonisation. The event was hosted by the university’s Centre for Africa Studies and the Department of Philosophy.

Heavyweight thinkers
Attendees to this colloquium were treated to the thoughts of renowned academics from various social sciences disciplines, including: Prof Francis B. Nyamnjoh, University of Cape Town; Prof Henning Melber, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Nordic Africa Institute, University of London, University of Pretoria and the UFS; Prof Heidi Hudson, UFS; Prof Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni, University South Africa; Alida Kok, Unisa; and from the UFS Prof Johann Rossouw, Dr Stephanie Cawood, Dr Christian Williams, and Khanya Motshabi. All the speakers had extensive global experience that allowed them to use practical examples to illustrate theoretical ideas. These ranged from students removing colonial spirits with African rituals, incorporating indigenous knowledge systems in curricula, to the creation of cultural houses on campuses where students can become acquainted with different cultures in a safe space.

Description: Decolonising colloquium bigger Tags: Decolonising colloquium bigger

Questions from attendees at the recent colloquium on decolonising the university,
hosted by the Centre for Africa Studies and the Departement of Philosophy,
showed a search for solutions to the current decolonising dilemma.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Where to from here?
Questions from attendees showed a search for solutions to the current decolonising dilemma. How will it look? Is it possible? Has it worked anywhere? During the two days, it became clear that colonialism reaches far and deep, rendering decolonisation a complex problem that should be addressed carefully to avoid greater divisions. “Colonisers and colonised are two sides of a coin,” Prof Melber explained. “Essentially it means that we are part of the same coin.” This metaphor illustrated how there is no right or wrong world view, or right or wrong knowledge – there should, however, be an integrated approach suitable for that “one coin”.

It starts at home
Successful decolonisation starts in the mind, it was agreed. Colonisation robbed us all of a richness of knowledge by offering absolutes, or “the only truths”. Questioning existing colonial knowledge and exploring other bodies of knowledge will ultimately lead to a new world of knowledge. Being mediators between the different worlds of knowledge is what the new generation of academics needs to become.

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