About
Us
SoloBear was born out of necessity.
To actively address the national social objective of job creation among the youth by fostering sustainable, self-help entrepreneurs specifically skilled through creative development, life-skills training, and new venture business mentoring.
The SoloBear Art & Design project is a unique initiative to addressing and alleviating poverty among the women and youth of the Cape Whale Coast. Hermanus, the renowned land-based whale watching capital of the world, has steadily built a fine reputation among travelling culture seekers as an ‘arty’ town. A reputation justifiably well-grounded in the town’s growing popularity as one of the best art destinations in South Africa.
The day you have an opportunity to help at least one person to live a better life – that is a good day!
The SoloBear Art & Design initiative – in identifying and developing young talents in the greater Hermanus region – is a much needed and highly sought after ‘next step’ in growing the town as a cultural hub for fine artists, investors, collectors, and local art enthusiasts.
The SoloBear Art & Design youth project will need a home. To this end we aim to build a bricks and mortar youth hub to be named the SoloBear Art & Design Centre: A dedicated safe and educational space for the specific purposes of identifying, fostering, and growing young talents.
Not for us, but for the long-term benefit of developing creative and successful SoloBear entrepreneurs of the future.
A good entrepreneur who has a social conscious and understands where we are in South Africa, would have a mix of self-interest in terms of profit-making, salary, bonus etc, and to have his creative energies compensated…and at the same time having social objectives of creating more jobs, training, bursaries and learnerships.
Pravin Gordhan – Minister of Finance
Unemployment and the lack of a young and skilled labour force are akin to a deadly disease that is paralyzing the very limbs and bones of our nation’s economy… and it’s slowly killing South Africa.
Plight of the Neets
Recent statistics revealed there are currently 3,7 million disengaged youth in South Africa.
Unemployment levels stand at an all time high of over 50%. They are a market termed the
NEETS – No Employment, Education or Training.
We at SoloBear are determined to make a difference in addressing the low levels of start-up entrepreneurs in our Rainbow Nation. We have identified the need to get actively involved in the training and upliftment of marginalised women and youth in the Cape Whale Coast and greater Hermanus region.
We aim to empower young talents through life-skills training, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and creative development in Art & Design. We hope our efforts will help to address these nationally crippling statistics.
A clever Trevor once penned “Money is not everything…it’s the only thing.”
The jury is still out on the harsh economic reality of this statement. But the undisputed fact of its implications remains simply this: as a registered Non-Profit company we cannot execute our good intentions or any aspect of our SoloBear Brand Plan without money.