Microsoft applications solutions division of Dimension Data in South Africa , 3fifteen, has built a custom application for The Nations Trust (TNT), South Africa 's foremost non-profit small business investment programme for youth, which enables it to better manage its interactions with entrepreneurs.

South Africa is a country that is characterised by high unemployment and underemployment, leaving millions of young people searching for a regular wage to support themselves and their families. Despite the fact that the country’s economy is steadily growing, the number of young people without jobs is too great for the market to absorb.

In an effort to combat this socio-economic reality, The Nations Trust helps to foster entrepreneurial talent to create self-employment. The organisation offers many promising South African entrepreneurs the opportunity to achieve a sustainable income by offering small business loans, as well as providing mentoring to each business throughout the term of the loan to ensure its sustainability.

According to Ashley du Plooy, who heads TNT, the organisation required a solution that would help manage and record the visits and sessions that volunteers, working as mentors, spend with each business.  “We wanted to provide the mentors with an easy to use tool that would help them to keep records of what has been done, how much time has been spent with their protégés and what kind of interventions are most successful. We were delighted when 3fifteen stepped in to develop a solution that would do just that – and the big advantage is that it is Web-based, so our mentors can log in from anywhere in the country and use the system” says du Plooy.

James Baber, MD of 3fifteen, says the company has an active corporate social responsibility programme. “We recognised the value of an organisation that helps people to become self sufficient; we were pleased to play a role in providing a system for better management,” he says.

Built using Microsoft .NET and Active Server Pages, the solution is simple to use and collects all information into a central database.

“By keeping records of what has been done, when they have visited and the outcomes, we can understand the interactions and the successes, monitor the progress of the protégé, as well as keep an eye on cashflow,” continues du Plooy.

“We have been able to help over 1 200 young people, lending more than R10.5 -million in small loans. This effort, along with the contributions of the mentors, has resulted in the establishment of hundreds of successful and sustainable businesses, many of which have already repaid their loans,” du Plooy concludes.