E0.7m up for grabs at Youth Business Plan competition

Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Hlob'sile Ndlovu with Technoserve Country Director Leslie Johnson

TECHNOSERVE will this year focus its Believe Begin Become (BBB) business plan competition on the youth and E775 000 has been set aside as seed capital prizes.

During a media pre-launch of the competition being hosted for the fourth time since inception in the country, TechnoServe Country Director Leslie Johnston this year’s competition aimed to assist the youth become successful entrepreneurs.

She said this year the organisation had partnered with the ministry of sports, culture and youth affairs as well as the Swaziland National Youth Council (SNYC) in addition to the competition’s main partner and sponsor; the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as other local partners; Standard Bank, Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS), Swazi TV and others.

Youth Minister Hlob’sile Ndlovu said the competition’s main objective was to promote and support entrepreneurship and further develop sustainable and globally competitive micro, small and medium enterprises.

She said it also sought to empower the youth to become more independent and self supporting by teaching them to think and make critical thinking decisions, to create and write a dream list, develop a short and long-term plan for their lives and become better communicators.

“This programme will equip all young people on how they can incorporate their skills and interests into a business venture and perform market research,” said Ndlovu. “This competition provides an opportunity to get funding from the ministry’s E6 million Youth Enterprise Fund for good business ideas coming out of the Believe Begin Become programme.”

The minister said through the programme, the youth would explore their entrepreneurial skills, define their personal as well as business visions and goals. She said they would be able to research current trends and be introduced to the key components of a well developed business plan.

“Having completed your business plan, if you can say: ‘I can make this business work’, you will have the motivation needed to succeed in developing and launching your business,” she added.

However, Ndlovu said, if the aspiring entrepreneurs were not completely convinced of their abilities, they would need to revisit their business plans and modify these until they had the confidence to make it work.

“If your business is based on what you like, then you will find pleasure in doing business. It is exciting to see the response of others as they buy your products or use your services,” she noted, “doors will open, you will meet new people and discover new business opportunities. If you allow yourself to learn and grow, you will experience the endless potential of this changing world.”

The minister also noted that an economically empowered youth has positive implications for the country’s economy. She said the challenges facing young people, such as unemployment, would be tackled and this would ultimately lead to wealth creation.

“Now that TechnoServe has come on board in our initiative of youth development, I invite the youth to be our partners as we take on this task of developing them. I therefore encourage them to seize this opportunity and join the BBB business plan competition” added Ndlovu.

The period for applications opens on January 31 to close on March 20.

Overall winner  E100 000

5 runners-up                 E75 000 each

10 finalists                    E30 000 each