Being an entrepreneur is hard work. It takes focus, commitment, a firm vision and lots of hard work. But it's mainly about the big idea. The idea that captivates your prospective market. One South African business has gotten the attention of China's Alibaba and it's E-Founders Fellowship. Angelo Coppola picks up the story.

The Hooray start up and its founder were one of 30 applicants selected from over 1200 applicants from Africa. Alibaba executives shared their knowledge, their culture and their giving heart principle. But they're business people first and foremost.

BASSON ENGELBRECHT FOUNDER HOORAY ONLINE "They would be the first ones to tell that they're smarter than the Americans, because the Americans can take a business concept and they try and plant it exactly the same way in Africa. While as I think their approach is really to partner with those guys already in with the government, already in with the banks, or already have that tight, the knowledge as well, of the cultures of the country."

Most, if not all budding entrepreneurs spend the first phase of their business life doing absolutely everything to get their business off the ground.

BASSON ENGELBRECHT FOUNDER HOORAY ONLINE "I'm currently doing, I'm doing the software development, I'm doing the marketing, I'm doing everything. But I want to focus on getting on fulfilling our vision. And that's why we're setting up a team, a strong team to do all these operations."

The offering is simplicity itself and takes all the pain away from entrepreneurs looking for new markets in the online space.

BASSON ENGELBRECHT FOUNDER HOORAY ONLINE "We're doing the scouting on ground level, we are also an extra sales channel for. A lot of premium brands, and retail shops. And we put them online. We address the challenges such as the lack of capital, such as the lack of knowledge, and we really empower the entrepreneur, through giving them the structures and the platform to sell their products."

Entrepreneurs are focussed individuals, but their end game vision is sometimes different.

BASSON ENGELBRECHT FOUNDER HOORAY ONLINE "A lot of us entrepreneurs work toward that one day when I'm there. But in fact, it's not about one day or what you do on that day. It's what you do every day. So it's the marginal gains that you make."

ANGELO COPPOLA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "It's always about finding that simple idea and meet the need that somebody else might have, and make a profit out of it. I'm Angelo Coppola for CGTN in Sandton, South Africa."