“Om klippe te kou…” literally means “chewing rocks” translated from Afrikaans, or differently put, “Persist and you will win”. That’s true grit, for which Afrikaners are renowned.
Now a South African entrepreneur living in the UK, Jacques Basson, has taken that concept online with his weekly Klipkouers Business Podcast to stoke the entrepreneurial fires of his fellow Afrikaners, both those living in South Africa and in the global diaspora.
As an Afrikaner in the diaspora, Basson says that upon seeing his first Afrikaner shantytown a few years ago and delving back into the history of the Afrikaner, the Afrikaner spirit to overcome and succeed, and what it means to be an Afrikaner, was awakened in him, and he felt a need to help fellow Afrikaners.
With limited job creation and employment opportunities, South Africans find themselves under pressure, and the only way out is through entrepreneurship and international connections, says Basson. Klipkouers does not aim to simply lecture, but provides business education anchored in practical and proven real-life knowledge and examples, providing a business roadmap and international network for entrepreneurs.
“It provides an easily accessible online platform for knowledge, advice, mentoring and leadership by example,” he says.
For Basson his new venture personifies his passion for his people, his language and for business. And in a fast-paced globalised world, Basson’s Klipkouers is using the power of podcasting to respond to the pressing need among many entrepreneurs, start-ups and business managers for practical and proven business advice and mentorship.
Basson launched his weekly Klipkouers Podcast in January this year in which he interviews different successful Afrikaner entrepreneurs and those who have made an impact around the world, asking everybody the same questions.
Klipkpouers has rapidly built a large and very active online community. It reaches some 25,000 people via Facebook each week as well as thousands of subscribers and episode downloads per month.
The Klipkouers website is intended to provide inspiration, answer questions, and provide practical mentoring and resources to budding entrepreneurs, and adding value to help them realize their own aspirations wherever they might be.
Basson believes podcasting is the prime digital media “real estate” of the future. It is done online, is borderless and allows podcasters to nurture a global tribe of trusting, loyal listeners. Podcasting is also creating additional demand for social media marketing services and resources.
“Podcasts enable immediate and intimate access to listeners who can listen to exactly what they want, when they want and how they want”, says Basson.
With the practical tools and services offered by Klipkouers, there are no demographic boundaries, no affirmative action and no discrimination, says Basson, who aims to help and inspire anyone already on, or hoping to embark on an entrepreneurial journey and who wants to excel and achieve success.
In his weekly interviews on Klipkouers, Basson has already brought the stories and practical advice of a range of successful Afrikaner businesspeople to his loyal podcast listeners. These include achievers such as Kobus Wiese, famous Springbok rugby player and coffee merchant; Louis van der Watt, co-founder of Atterbury which built Africa’s biggest mall, the Mall of Africa; Rohan Vos, the well-known founder of Rovos Rail, whose private trains offer some of the most luxurious rail travel in the world; Gert-Johan Coetzee, South Africa’s top fashion designer and designer to Hollywood A-listers; Adam Tas, a popular Afrikaans musician who also runs his own successful business, Loopgraaf Films and many more.
A further addition to the service offering of Klipkouers, to be known as Binnekring (inner circle) will be launched in February. This will entail an exclusive subscription service offering a variety of business resources and van be found at www.klipkouers.com/binnekring.
Basson has himself had a successful career both in large corporates and as an entrepreneur building his own multi-million rand businesses. After studying at Free State University, he joined The Coca-Cola Company and later worked in South Africa and England for Parmalat, Ecolab, Luxoticca and Polaroid Eyewear, among others. He then launched his own commercial cleaning business, VanBroc Cleaning in the UK, followed by a joint venture in Texas, USA, and has now added Klipkouers to his portfolio.
