UKZN Students Dominate in Unilever Business Competition

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UKZN students Ms Bongeka Dlamini, Mr Kwazini Zulu and Ms Lilly Njila are preparing to represent Africa at the Unilever Future Leaders League in London later this year after winning the South African leg of the Unilever Africa Idea Trophy Competition, a student business competition for penultimate-year university students across Africa.

Designed to improve youth employability, the competition provides students with the opportunity to work on real-life business challenges in a creative and dynamic work environment. Students are given access to world-class training from Unilever’s leaders and get to work on some of Africa’s most beloved brands.

Dlamini, Zulu and Njila, also known as Team South Africa, will be in London, alongside Team Nigeria, to compete with 30 other countries at the Unilever Future Leaders League.  They were also awarded Infinix smart phones.

‘This experience was the highlight of our year and it is an honour to represent our country, and continent, for South Africa’s Number 1 Top Employer at the Unilever Future Leaders League,’ said Dlamini.

In the initial part of the competition, the students were challenged to design a Unilever product programme that created social change through movement and impacted 4 million consumers by 2017.

All the group members had to present their ideas in the semi-final round with three teams going through to the final round in which Bongeka, Zulu and Njila were victorious.

They went on to represent South Africa at the Africa Finals held last month in Johannesburg where they competed against Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

Dlamini said each team was given a case study and had to create a mobile-first digital campaign that would create ‘talkability for Unilever’s youth employability initiatives such as Shield’s Class of Confidence’. 

The UKZN students, who are all members of Enactus UKZN, believe the experience they have gained in Enactus proved vital in their win. ‘Getting involved in extra-mural activities allows one the opportunity to find your passion, while still gaining the necessary experience needed to further your career,’ said Dlamini.

‘As Young African Millennials, the progression and development of Africa lies in our hands and this is why we are seizing every opportunity at our disposal and using our gifts and passions to contribute towards making Africa a first world continent,’ she said.

 Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer