Sub Saharan African economies are increasingly dependent on small businesses in the informal sector. Subsequently, there are many institutions established with the aim to support small businesses and promote entrepreneurship. There are, we argue, good reasons to rethink the standard way such support and training processes are organized. A co-operative support process would hold several advantages. Practitioners would not be seen as beneficiaries but as co-designers. It would add to their self-esteem, stimulate their visual thinking and activate their entrepreneurial visions. It would bring about a better understanding of what is needed to change the growing number of survivalists into a community of entrepreneurs.