In South Africa, a tenderpreneur is a person in government or the private sector who obtains private or government tenders and contracts to facilitate outsourced services. The word ''tenderpreneur'' is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordstendering An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...

" and "

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

". Some commentators believe that this practice might give rise to a

kleptocracy Kleptocracy (from Greek κλέπτης ''kléptēs'', "thief", κλέπτω ''kléptō'', "I steal", and -κρατία -''kratía'' from κράτος ''krátos'', "power, rule") is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political ...

as a deviant mutation of a democracy if left unchecked. In this regard a kleptocracy is defined as the condition arising when a political elite manipulates the three arms of government (legislative, executive and judicial) with the intention of capturing resources that will enrich that elite, a general phenomenon known as

elite capture Elite capture is a form of corruption whereby public resources are biased for the benefit of a few individuals of superior social status in detriment to the welfare of the larger population. Elites are groups of individuals who, because of self ...

. Tenderpreneurship is often accomplished by overpricing and/or shoddy workmanship and/or excessive 'under the table' advances termed "commissions". ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', a South African newspaper, describes a tenderpreneur as "someone politically well-connected who has got rich through the government tendering system". In January 2010,

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

leader

Blade Nzimande Bonginkosi Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande (born 14 April 1958 in Edendale near Pietermaritzburg) is a South African politician, sociologist, philosopher, educator, anti-apartheid activist and Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology. H ...

called for transparency in the awarding of tenders, saying "let's be bold, let's go and promote small entrepreneurs and defeat tenderpreneurs, those who steal." The case involving the

Gupta family The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family ow ...

and their close ties to the administration of president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

can be classified as tenderpreneurism.

References

Redefining the tenderpreneur
Economy of South Africa Corruption in South Africa Neologisms Political terminology in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-stub

See also

References