NMMU pair off to business summit
Event founded by Obama boosts bright, young Southern African entrepreneurs
TWO NMMU students will attend the four-week Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali) in Midrand next month – a summit which was the brainchild of former US president Barack Obama.
Sandile Mjamba, 23, and Sigqibo Jack, 23, will attend Yali from August 14 to September 8, along with others selected from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries like Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
At the summit, they will receive training in business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership and public management.
Obama launched Yali in 2010 to support young African leaders, and promote growth and democratic governance in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mjamba and Jack are looking forward to the opportunity to network with other bright minds from Southern Africa.
Mjamba, a final-year developmental studies student and SRC member, who was born in Mthatha and raised in Bhisho, said he was looking forward to the entrepreneurship training.
“I studied developmental studies because I could see the inequality, especially in rural areas where my mother was raised.
“I wanted to address those apartheid distortions. I want to integrate township economies and advance innovations in rural areas,” he said.
Mjamba and fellow student Sibusiso Makaringe started a business in 2015, selling rechargable LED lamps to students during loadshedding.
“We sourced them from China and then made a killing during load-shedding. Load-shedding then ended and we had to look at other avenues.”
The two then received a contract from the university to deliver groceries and stationery to various departments and residences.
They also sourced and sold power banks, tazers and other electronic equipment to students via an online e-commerce shop.
“At the moment, we are also working on a business plan for a biofuel plantation.
“We are in the research phase, but we are looking at producing eco-friendly fuel which is cheaper and part of government’s priority funding agenda,” he said.
Jack, originally from East London, who is completing an honours degree in economics, said: “I strongly believe that leaders are made and not born. This is why I am looking forward to learning and adapting. I believe a leader should adapt from his mistakes.
“We currently have a leadership crisis in South Africa and it is up to our generation to make sure we learn from the mistakes of our current leadership in order to build a better South Africa.”
Jack said he made the top 20 out of thousands of entries to take part in SABC reality show One Day Leader.
“Unfortunately, I did not make the final six. Last year, I also took part in The GradStar Top100 Students event. It was a leadership summit where top students could network and meet potential employers.”