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A new venture creation learnership trains people to start and run a small business: it combines structured learning with practical, work-based application and ends in a registered qualification. In 2026 the name “New Venture Creation” covers three different programmes with different rules and enrolment dates, so this page sets them out first and then explains how a learnership is funded. It is written for the people who fund entrepreneurship training, such as HR, L&D and enterprise and supplier development (ESD) managers, and it also answers what learners ask before they enrol: entry requirements, duration, stipends, delivery and fees.
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Add a certificate to your CV with BOTI e-learning: 142 self-paced online courses – Excel, Word, project management, customer service and more – from R595 (excl. VAT) with 6 months’ access.
See the e-learning courses
Rather have your employer pay? Here’s how to ask
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BOTI is accredited by the QCTO (Quality Council for Trades and Occupations) as a skills development provider, and is a Level 1 B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) contributor. Plan the training in your Workplace Skills Plan and count it towards your B-BBEE skills development score.
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BOTI is accredited by the QCTO (Quality Council for Trades and Occupations) as a skills development provider, and is a Level 1 B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) contributor. Plan the training in your Workplace Skills Plan and count it towards your B-BBEE skills development score.
Get a quote for your team
Whether you are an employer planning a new venture creation learnership or a learner comparing entrepreneurship learnership options, start with the accreditation section below: it sets out the three accredited routes BOTI offers and how their enrolment dates differ. Employers planning a learnership cohort and individual learners can compare all of BOTI’s accredited qualifications and skills programmes in one place.
What a new venture creation learnership covers, and who it is for
Unlike a one-day workshop, a learnership builds what a founder has to do in practice: find an opportunity and test whether it is viable, work out what the venture needs financially, plan the business, and market, sell and run it. The exact content depends on the qualification the learnership is built on, which is why the route matters. It suits:
- Employers, HR and L&D teams placing entrepreneurship in a Workplace Skills Plan or running a learnership cohort.
- ESD and CSI managers developing small suppliers or running programmes for unemployed young people.
- Individuals who want an accredited, certificated programme rather than a certificate of attendance.
Is it accredited? The three New Venture Creation routes
Yes, but the accreditation depends on the route. BOTI is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider for the two QCTO programmes below and holds Services SETA accreditation (12582) for legacy qualifications. The three routes differ in type, size, final assessment and enrolment dates:
| Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur | New Venture Creation skills programme | National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | QCTO part-qualification | QCTO skills programme | Legacy (pre-2009) Services SETA qualification |
| Code | SAQA ID 124485 | SP-210401 | SAQA ID 49648 |
| NQF level and credits | NQF Level 3, 63 credits[1] | NQF Level 2, 32 credits | NQF Level 2, 138 credits[2] |
| Final assessment | External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA); the QCTO issues the certificate | Final Integrated Supervised Assessment (FISA) run by BOTI; the QCTO issues the certificate | Assessed under the legacy unit-standard rules |
| BOTI contact days | 10, plus two work experience modules | 15 | 24, over 12 months |
| Last date for enrolment | 3 June 2031[1] | 25 October 2027 | Extended by 24 months on SAQA’s June 2026 list[3]; check the SAQA record |
The Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur is the QCTO part-qualification for people starting a business. It covers the start-up stage: generating and testing business ideas, judging whether a venture is viable, working out its financial requirements and preparing a funding proposal. Its work experience modules (18 of the 63 credits) take the learner through developing a business concept and a funding proposal. It ends in an EISA, the QCTO issues the certificate, and new learners can enrol until 3 June 2031[1].
The New Venture Creation skills programme (SP-210401) is smaller. It is a QCTO skills programme, not a qualification: 32 credits at NQF Level 2, ending in a written FISA of up to three hours with a 70% pass mark, which BOTI runs under QCTO rules. Its credits count towards a full or part-qualification, and new learners can enrol until 25 October 2027.
The National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) is the legacy Services SETA qualification. Like other pre-2009 qualifications, its dates are set qualification by qualification, and SAQA’s record is the authority for its last date for enrolment and last date for achievement[2].
Which route can be a learnership?
A learnership ends in a registered qualification, so the skills programme on its own is not a learnership: the QCTO records skills programmes rather than registering them as qualifications. The National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) can still take new learners within its extended enrolment period[3]; confirm the date on its SAQA record and with your SETA before you sign a learnership agreement. For the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur, ask your SETA to confirm that a learnership can be registered on it before you plan a cohort.
How a new venture creation learnership is funded
For employers, a learnership can draw on several sources at once. None of them is automatic, and your SETA, not the training provider, decides on grants. As general guidance only, not financial, tax or legal advice:
| Funding source | How it works |
|---|---|
| Skills Development Levy and the mandatory grant | Employers pay the Skills Development Levy (SDL) at 1% of payroll[4], monthly through SARS. An employer that submits its Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) by 30 April, and is up to date with its levy payments, can claim a mandatory grant of 20% of its levy[5]. Unclaimed mandatory grant money moves to discretionary funding by 15 August[5]. |
| Discretionary and learnership grants | SETAs fund learnerships through learnership grants from their discretionary funds, which mainly go to programmes that lead to qualifications or part-qualifications on the NQF. Your SETA decides whether to fund a particular learnership. |
| B-BBEE skills development | Skills development spend counts on the B-BBEE scorecard, where the skills development target is measured against 6% of the leviable amount (not 6% of payroll)[6]. How your spend is recognised is for your B-BBEE verification professional to confirm. |
| Enterprise and supplier development | Training black-owned small suppliers may also support the ESD element of your scorecard. Confirm how it will be recognised before you plan on it. |
| Learnership tax allowance | Registered learnerships may qualify for a SARS learnership tax allowance. Confirm whether it applies, and its current terms, with your tax practitioner. |
Because all of this depends on your SETA, payroll and scorecard, we do not promise grants or points. We help you scope the learnership; confirm the funding with your Skills Development Facilitator (SDF), SETA or B-BBEE verification professional.
Is there a stipend?
Many learners searching for a new venture creation learnership want to know about the stipend. Whether a learnership pays a stipend, and how much, depends on the employer or programme that offers it and on the learnership agreement, so ask them directly for the amount and conditions. This page does not quote stipend amounts.
Entry requirements
- Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur: an NQF Level 2 qualification with Mathematical Literacy and Communication. Learners without it can gain access through recognition of prior learning (RPL).
- New Venture Creation skills programme (SP-210401): NQF Level 1.
- National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME): ask us to confirm the entry requirements for your learners when you check its enrolment dates.
None of the routes requires a degree, an entrance exam or a previous business qualification. RPL assesses and credits what a person already knows and can do, so it can help a learner who has run an informal business for years but lacks formal schooling.
How long it takes
BOTI delivers the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur in 10 contact days of facilitated training for the knowledge and practical modules, plus the two work experience modules. The New Venture Creation skills programme takes 15 contact days. BOTI’s page for the National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) sets out 30 contact days over 12 months. We confirm a realistic timeline for your group when we quote.
Delivery: online, in-house and part-time
A learnership does not have to take a founder out of their business or a staff member off the floor. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or online with a live facilitator. In-house delivery is usually the most cost-effective option for a group and can be built around your own ESD or learnership programme, and contact days can be spread out so that a working person or a small-business owner keeps trading while studying.
How fees work
Fees depend on the route, the number of learners and the delivery format. Each course page shows its price, and for a group we quote on your scope. Grants and other funding may reduce your net cost, but they depend on your SETA and your circumstances, so we will not quote a net figure that relies on them.
Shorter, non-accredited entrepreneurship courses
For one focused skill rather than a full programme, BOTI also runs the Entrepreneurship Training Course (1 day), Costing and Pricing Training for a Business Venture (3 days), Tender for Business or Work in a New Venture (2 days) and Plan Strategically to Improve New Venture Performance (3 days). These courses are not accredited. They are delivered as professional skills programmes, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Why BOTI
BOTI (Business Optimization Training Institute) is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider. Its QCTO accreditation for the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur is valid to 30 June 2031 and for the New Venture Creation skills programme to 29 April 2030, and it holds Services SETA accreditation (12582) for legacy qualifications. Our consultants scope the right route for your cohort and tell you plainly which programmes carry credits and which lead to a certificate of attendance. To compare options:
- QCTO occupational certificates: full and part-qualifications that end in an EISA.
- QCTO skills programmes: shorter programmes that end in a FISA run by BOTI.
- SETA qualifications: legacy qualifications, including the National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME).
- QCTO accredited qualifications in South Africa: our guide to how the QCTO system works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a new venture creation learnership?
A structured programme that combines learning with practical, work-based application and ends in a registered qualification in new venture creation or entrepreneurship. The options are the legacy National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) (SAQA ID 49648), within its extended enrolment period, and, if your SETA confirms that a learnership can be registered on it, the QCTO Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur (SAQA ID 124485).
Is New Venture Creation a QCTO qualification?
Not under that name. In the QCTO system, New Venture Creation is a skills programme (SP-210401, NQF Level 2, 32 credits) that ends in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment and takes new learners until 25 October 2027. The QCTO part-qualification for entrepreneurs is the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur (SAQA ID 124485, NQF Level 3, 63 credits), open to new learners until 3 June 2031[1].
Is the National Certificate: New Venture Creation still open for enrolment?
The National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) (SAQA ID 49648) is a legacy, pre-2009 qualification. In June 2026 the Minister granted final, qualification-by-qualification extensions of 6 to 24 months for selected pre-2009 qualifications[7], and SAQA’s list shows a 24-month extension for this one[3]. Check its SAQA record for the last date for enrolment before you sign a learnership agreement.
What is the difference between a learnership and a skills programme?
A learnership combines structured learning with practical, work-based application and leads to a registered qualification. A QCTO skills programme is smaller, between 8 and 60 credits: the QCTO records it rather than registering it as a qualification, its credits count towards a full or part-qualification, and it ends in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment (FISA) run by the provider rather than an external exam.
How is a new venture creation learnership funded?
Usually from more than one source: the mandatory grant (20% of the Skills Development Levy, claimed back when the WSP and ATR are submitted by 30 April[5]), learnership grants that your SETA may award from its discretionary funds, and the employer’s own training budget. Skills development spend also counts on the B-BBEE scorecard. None of this is automatic, so confirm the details with your SDF, SETA or B-BBEE verification professional.
Does a new venture creation learnership pay a stipend?
That depends on the employer or programme offering the learnership and on the learnership agreement, so ask them for the amount and conditions. This page does not quote stipend amounts.
What are the entry requirements?
For the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur, an NQF Level 2 qualification with Mathematical Literacy and Communication, or access through recognition of prior learning (RPL). The New Venture Creation skills programme requires NQF Level 1. No route requires a degree or a previous business qualification.
How long does it take?
At BOTI, the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur is 10 contact days plus two work experience modules, the New Venture Creation skills programme is 15 contact days, and the legacy National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) runs over 30 contact days in 12 months.
What does it cost?
There is no single fixed price. Fees depend on the route, group size and delivery format; each course page shows its price, and we quote groups on request. Call 011 882 8853 or email [email protected].
BOTI’s current QCTO route for entrepreneurs is the Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur (SAQA ID 124485), a part-qualification at NQF Level 3 that takes new learners until 3 June 2031[1]. It ends in an External Integrated Summative Assessment, and the QCTO issues the certificate. Training runs in-house, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or online. Call 011 882 8853.
Sources
- SAQA qualification record 124485: Occupational Certificate: Entrepreneur – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), 2026.
- SAQA qualification record 49648: National Certificate: New Venture Creation (SMME) – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), 2026.
- Pre-2009 Extended Qualifications – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), June 2026.
- Skills Development Levy – South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2026.
- Mandatory Grants – Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA), 2026.
- Codes of Good Practice on B-BBEE: Code Series 300, Statement 300 – Skills Development (Government Gazette 42496) – Department of Trade and Industry, 31 May 2019.
- Directive on the implementation of transitional arrangements for pre-2009 qualifications (Government Gazette 54858) – Minister of Higher Education and Training, 17 June 2026.
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