UKZN BCom-4 Student Crowned Regional Winner in Entrepreneurship Competition

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The Zithathe Hub Incubation Programme of third-year BCom-4 student, Ms Nombuyiselo Mkhize, which is aimed at helping to reduce unemployment among the youth, earned her the regional first prize in the 2015 Business Partners Limited / SME Toolkit SA Global Entrepreneurship Week’s Business Plan Competition for aspiring young entrepreneurs.

The annual competition encourages young entrepreneurs to come up with innovate ideas that can be launched as start-up businesses. Entrants attend a one-day business workshop in their respective regions where winners are selected to go forward to compete for the national title.

Being the winner of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape region, Mkhize says she is excited about the doors her regional title will open for her.

‘Getting this far in the competition means I now have a starting point for the birth of my project and my degree will assist me to be able to take this on,’ said Mkhize. ‘It has given me the opportunity to make people aware of my project and hopefully I will get the financial and non-financial support I need to turn my idea into a reality and help people help themselves and others.’

Zinhle’s winning concept is designed for unemployed youth who have no formal tertiary education and those who are high school drop-outs.

‘Believing that entrepreneurs are made and not necessarily born, this incubation programme aims to equip young people with the necessary non-financial and financial resources to assist them to start and operate their own businesses that are founded upon what they are passionate about,’ explained Mkhize.

Mkhize says she focused on this element because there are limited employment opportunities available for young would-be entrepreneurs as they do not possess the educational qualifications nor the skills required by most employers.

‘This programme will not only help these individuals improve their lives but it will also create more employment opportunities for the people in the communities in which they live and thereby contribute to the overall economic growth in South Africa,’ she said.

Thandiwe Jumo