About Shell LiveWIRE ZA
Shell LiveWIRE is a global social investment initiative that focuses on training and equipping young people with the necessary entrepreneurial skills to combat high levels of youth unemployment and poverty, particularly in South Africa.
LiveWIRE Participants celebrating
LiveWIRE participant receiving certification
LiveWIRE trainer in session
LiveWIRE workshop in session
Shell LiveWIRE is the flagship enterprise development programme of Shell. The programme strengthens local economies across the globe by promoting entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurs.
The LiveWIRE programme supports historically disadvantaged youth between the ages of 18 and 35, who have growth-hungry and high growth businesses. The programme strives towards contributing to and creating a strong culture of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SME), and developing and growing their knowledge, skills and capabilities.
Shell LiveWIRE offers the following programmes to entrepreneurs: -
- Ignite
Ignite is high-touch incubation programme. The one- to three-year programme focuses on the entrepreneur as the driving force behind the business. As such, entrepreneurial development is a key element of the Learning and Guiding that each beneficiary experiences, which allows them to shift their thinking towards a growth and opportunity mindset.
This programme creates an environment in which incubatees are able to develop the entrepreneurial competencies required to grow profitable, sustainable businesses. The programme requires great commitment from the entrepreneur as it includes approximately 140 in total in learning and professional guidance (mentoring sessions). - Energise
Energise is a two-year accelerator programme designed for established, growth-hungry entrepreneurs who require support to take their business to the next level. This programme is designed to provide the support and scaffolding for high growth businesses that are transitioning from small to medium-sized. Very often this growth phase is accompanied by a confidence crisis. Energise ensures that entrepreneurs survive through this confidence crisis and create the systems and processes required to help scale the business effectively. In particular, entrepreneurs on the programme receive guidance on how to move from being a ‘technician’ to being the ‘manager’, handling HR and Strategy.
Raizcorp provides entrepreneurs on Energise with customised, high impact Guiding and Learning that assists in developing the advanced systems and processes that promote accelerated growth and job creation, as well as providing personal development support to the successful entrepreneur. One of the key success factors of this Raizcorp programme is the unique combination of soft and hard entrepreneurial skills developed by beneficiaries. - Career Support – Mentoring
Alumni of the Shell LiveWIRe programme are eligible to apply for the Shell MicroMentor Programme. Shell MicroMentor Programme is an online business mentoring platform that enables entrepreneurs and volunteer business mentors to connect, solve problems, and build businesses together. It empowers entrepreneurs to be change makers and provide mentors with a deeper sense of purpose. MicroMentor is freely available to alumnis and easy to use platform enables entrepreneurs and experienced business professionals to make mentoring connections anywhere anytime from the comfort of their home or office.
Youth that meet the selection criteria can apply online to be selected to participate in the programme.
Shell Downstream South Africa has partnered with Raizcorp, a global leader in business incubation and enterprise and supplier development, to facilitate the LiveWIRE 2.0 programme. The programme was piloted in Gauteng between 2014 and 2018. Following a programme evaluation in 2018, Shell LiveWIRE will now be more focused on growth-hungry and high growth start-up and established businesses. We are excited to announce that from 2019, Shell LiveWIRE will be running in Gauteng and in eMalahleni.