The Alternative To A State Bank

The call for state-owned banks in South Africa is not new, but this concept will only benefit a small minority. There is, however, an alternative that will boost investment in new business ventures, resulting in job creation and prosperity.

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Soon after I started lecturing at Stellenbosch, I had an idea: why not publish a book about what students should know when they go to university? I convinced professors at various South African universities to each write a chapter. I then proceeded to self-publish the book. But to print the 3 000 copies that I hoped would sell, I needed to pay printing costs of more than R70 000 – a massive amount for a junior lecturer with student debt.

So I approached the bank with an impressive business plan, my best suit and a big smile. Proposal rejected. I don’t remember the exact reasons given, but I do remember being extremely angry. How could my perfectly reasonable application for funding be denied?

But let me be honest: that was the best decision the bank could have made. Not for them – R70 000 is a drop in the ocean on their balance sheet – but for me.

I was never going to sell 3 000 books. At least not in the two-year period that I had hoped. I did manage to scrape together R70 000 and so two editions did see the light of day.

But we never really made a profit (the 2009 edition – Let’s Talk About Varsity – is now available for free on Google Books). Somewhere in a dark office (I imagine) sat a banker and realised, even before we printed a single copy, that it’s crazy to want to make money selling books.