About 250 learners capacitated with leadership skills
About 250 high school learners from schools around Siteki Town, and surrounding areas were on Saturday capacitated with entrepreneurship and leadership skills in the digital era.
Masterpreneurs team comprising of students from Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) hosted the event held at the Siteki Town Council Hall.
The Masterpreneurs team is a class of Business Management and Entrepreneurship (BME) year two students consisting of 63 members who have taken the initiative as part of their BME 204 Project Management Module.
According to Thantazo Nkambule, the programme was aimed at empowering young entrepreneurs and equipping them with essential leadership skills. She said the team was dedicated to fostering a healthy and sustainable economy through entrepreneurship. The learners started with a march around town and collected garbage along the town’s streets as part of their clean-up campaign.
Invite
Nkambule explained that the scope of the 6th Entrepreneurship Day was to invite high school learners from various high schools, namely Siteki Nazarene, Ngomane, Mhlume, Good Shepherd, Purity, Imbuyiselo Academy, Lusoti, Langa and Lubombo Central High.
“The learners were engaged in coaching sessions focused on entrepreneurship in enabling them to acquire new ideas and knowledge that can help them start their own businesses in the future,” she said.
The students mentioned that the objectives of the event were in two fold; firstly, the aim was to empower at least 200 high school pupils with leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
She said through engaging presentations from sponsors and motivational speakers, the pupils gained valuable insights into entrepreneurship and leadership in the digital era.
Nkambule added that the knowledge equipped them with the necessary tools to navigate the ever-evolving business landscape successfully.
She further mentioned that secondly, the organisers hoped to achieve a minimum of a 20 per cent increase in applicants from Siteki enrolling in the entrepreneurship course at SANU next year.
Inspiring
“By inspiring and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit within these learners, the Masterpreneurs team aims to encourage them to pursue higher education opportunities that can further enhance their entrepreneurial abilities,” added Nkambule.
She mentioned that the 6th Entrepreneurship Day featured esteemed sponsors such as Royal Eswatini Sugar (RES) Corporation, First National Bank (FNB) Eswatini, Dyson, Labassin, Youth Fund, Stem Projects, Eswatini Robotics and Umbuluzi.
“Their support underscores the significance of fostering entrepreneurship and nurturing future business leaders within the community.
In addition to the insightful presentations, attendees had the opportunity to win exciting prizes, with a chance to claim up to E500 as part of the promotional items.
The core values of the event as per the strategic plan, including honesty, transparency, commitment and dedication serve as guiding principles throughout its planning and execution.
The Masterpreneurs team understands the importance of instilling these values in the young entrepreneurs of tomorrow as they will contribute to the creation of a robust and ethical business environment,” the students said.