Free skills development programme
Brought to you by Standard Bank together with Thinkroom
BENEFITS OF THINKUBATE
- Get the skills needed to manage your business more efficiently, profitably and competitively
- A baseline assessment to understand which skills need development
- Course components are based on your assessment and personalised to meet your specific needs
- Downloadable resources
- Delivery and completion are online
- Thinkubate is designed specifically for South African entrepreneurs
- It’s free to Standard Bank Enterprise Banking clients
- Receive a certificate of completion
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
From finance to funding, marketing to technology, people and more, Thinkubate covers the essential business skills for starting and running a business.
Each element of the programme focuses on developing your skills and applying them to your business:
- Business and personal assessments identify any gaps
- A development plan provides bespoke solutions and next steps
- Information and resources are based on your needs and business phase
- Master the skills to help you make strategic decisions, achieve business milestones and take your business to the next level
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Your Thinkubate licence gives you access to the following:
- 11 Modules covering the most important business skills
- On-demand videos
- Downloadable resources
- Certificate of completion
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Thinkubate licences are exclusively available to Standard Bank Enterprise Banking clients :
- businesses trading for at least 1 year,
- a turnover of less than R5 million per year, and
- a computer, laptop or tablet with internet access (which is needed to participate).
HOW TO SIGN UP
- Visit the Standard Bank Thinkubate website
- Click on ‘Get Started Now’ to complete the qualifying criteria questionnaire
- To confirm whether you’re eligible for a free licence, Thinkroom will ask you to enter the code ‘SME4AGr01’ and provide more information about your business
- When approved, you’ll receive an email with your unique registration code and how to access the course
Terms and conditions apply.
Please note:
Standard Bank reserves the right to award or decline Thinkubate licences at its own discretion. While the Thinkubate licences are awarded by Standard Bank, the course is operated and delivered independently by Thinkroom. Participants will be asked to sign up and contract with Thinkroom directly when activating their licence. All other costs associated with the course are for the participant’s own account.
-
BENEFITS OF THINKUBATE
-
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
-
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
-
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
-
HOW TO SIGN UP
- Get the skills needed to manage your business more efficiently, profitably and competitively
- A baseline assessment to understand which skills need development
- Course components are based on your assessment and personalised to meet your specific needs
- Downloadable resources
- Delivery and completion are online
- Thinkubate is designed specifically for South African entrepreneurs
- It’s free to Standard Bank Enterprise Banking clients
- Receive a certificate of completion
From finance to funding, marketing to technology, people and more, Thinkubate covers the essential business skills for starting and running a business.
Each element of the programme focuses on developing your skills and applying them to your business:
- Business and personal assessments identify any gaps
- A development plan provides bespoke solutions and next steps
- Information and resources are based on your needs and business phase
- Master the skills to help you make strategic decisions, achieve business milestones and take your business to the next level
Your Thinkubate licence gives you access to the following:
- 11 Modules covering the most important business skills
- On-demand videos
- Downloadable resources
- Certificate of completion
Thinkubate licences are exclusively available to Standard Bank Enterprise Banking clients :
- businesses trading for at least 1 year,
- a turnover of less than R5 million per year, and
- a computer, laptop or tablet with internet access (which is needed to participate).
- Visit the Standard Bank Thinkubate website
- Click on ‘Get Started Now’ to complete the qualifying criteria questionnaire
- To confirm whether you’re eligible for a free licence, Thinkroom will ask you to enter the code ‘SME4AGr01’ and provide more information about your business
- When approved, you’ll receive an email with your unique registration code and how to access the course
Terms and conditions apply.
Please note:
Standard Bank reserves the right to award or decline Thinkubate licences at its own discretion. While the Thinkubate licences are awarded by Standard Bank, the course is operated and delivered independently by Thinkroom. Participants will be asked to sign up and contract with Thinkroom directly when activating their licence. All other costs associated with the course are for the participant’s own account.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Why did Standard Bank partner with the Thinkubate Academy?
We partnered with the Thinkubate Academy to address one of the leading challenges faced by our small busines clients, namely, critical gaps in their business management skills. Unlike larger enterprises who can afford to hire the skills they need, small business owners usually have to manage every aspect of the business themselves, from marketing and sales, through operations and financial management to human resources and information technology. Struggling with these management functions without the necessary skills often handicaps the business and exhausts the owner.
2. What is the Thinkubate Academy?
The Thinkubate Academy is an online business skills development platform where small enterprises can access masterclasses and practical learning tools covering a range of business management subjects. The Academy aims to equip small business owners with the skills and tools they need to manage their businesses effectively at every life stage of the enterprise.
The Academy is owned and operated by Thinkroom, a leading provider of business skills development, business acceleration and go-to-market strategy services for small businesses across the African continent.
3. What is the Thinkubate programme about?
The Thinkubate programme was put together specifically for Standard Bank clients in South Africa who want practical business management skills in a format that works for them. The programme is delivered remotely and online, the facilitators are all business owners themselves and it contains eleven modules including Strategy, People, Product, Marketing, Operations, Sales, Technology, Finance & Accounting and Enterprise Funding & Valuation.
4. How much does it cost to participate in the programme?
Standard Bank has secured a limited number of Thinkubate licences for the programme and these are available at no charge to qualifying clients on a first-come first-served basis. Note that the masterclasses, tools and templates are all delivered online, and participants have to provide their own computer or tablet and internet connection or mobile data.
5. How long is the course and how much time does it consume?
Participants work through the modules and materials at their own pace and they have up to eighteen months to complete the programme (licences are valid up until 31 December 2024). Also, each participant’s learning path is different following their assessment. However, participants who spend about 2 hours per week on the programme could complete it in six months.
6. Why do participants need to do an assessment?
Each small business is at a different stage in the its business life cycle and entrepreneurs have different gaps in their business management skills set. A baseline assessment at the start of the programme serves to highlight what skills and capabilities need to be developed, and it informs the learning pathway for each participant.
Once your eligibility for the programme is confirmed, visit the Standard Bank page at Thinkubate at https://standardbank.thinkubate.co, click on ‘Get Started Now’ and complete the assessment form.
7. What do participants get at the end of the programme?
Participants who complete the programme get a certificate of completion. However, most entrepreneurs are more concerned about business results than certificates. Participants in previous Thinkubate programmes say that their businesses saw increased competitiveness, improved operational efficiency, greater funding readiness and new prospects for growth. They also benefitted personally with less stress, greater confidence and more control over their lives.