The St Patrick's Trust
The Saint Patrick's Trust is a pioneering initiative to aid and develop entrepreneurship in South Africa. We work with government entities, private companies and other civil society groups to tackle our massive unemployment and poverty problems, and ignite a revolution of entrepreneurial action .
There are many thousands of emerging and township entrepreneurs who struggle on a daily basis to attract funding. Unfortunately, most of these people will never secure the necessary finance or mentorship needed to succeed, even with the huge sacrifices made in the attempt to create these ventures. This is where the Trust comes in. Our aim is to be a bridge between those who either have a mandate or a desire to fund emerging entrepreneurs; and the large pool of entrepreneurs with business savvy and streetwise experience who require this funding.
Since our inception 3 years ago, we have provided over R 2 million to social upliftment and entrepreneur-orientated projects. In the last year alone, we have created scores of jobs and enabled many students to learn new skills, giving them a better chance of securing employment and increasing their sense of self.
We are proud to be in partnership with some of South Africa s leading financiers and business people. Our aim is to convert this goodwill and intellect into sustainable mentorship, combine this with donor and commercial funds, and provide South Africa s many budding entrepreneurs with an access to a future.
Our goal is to fund, co-fund or secure funding for hundreds of projects in the coming years. We are confident we are going be among the early first-movers in this journey to making South Africa the global example of how social entrepreneurship can be a building block in an entire nation's success.
Strategic partnerships
Together with our strategic partners, we are aiming to foster a spirit of enterprise in South Africa. Our common ideals mean our working relationships are strong and effective. We pride ourselves on sharing:
- An ethic that we hold our integrity above all else.
- A strong and unwavering commitment to our communities at large.
- A sense of responsibility to ourselves, our donors and our beneficiaries.
- A belief that each person can influence their own destiny.
