Self-employment and job creation are two very talked-about topics of recent months.
Highlighted on media platforms and on the lips of each politician, the demolition of bureaucratic procedures and forms is seen as important to restoring the world’s economy, especially when entrepreneurship is key.
This year, Allan Gray Makers embarked on a mission to expose as many young people to entrepreneurship as possible in all 50 technical and vocation education and training colleges (TVETs) across the country. So the journey of the inaugural National Inter-College Entrepreneurship competition began.
Endorsed by the Department of Higher Education and Training, this competition is pitched nationally and aims to foster a culture of entrepreneurship among TVET students. They were invited to submit their business ideas, products or services and existing businesses to participate.
After registering and submitting their entries, students first had to compete against their peers in inter-campus competition rounds. Winners of the inter-campus competitions then proceeded to the regional inter-college entrepreneurship competition.
Afterwards, all winners and their mentors were whisked off to Johannesburg for the official Allen Grey Makers Conference and national competition, where all the winners gained access to business-exposure opportunities and had the opportunity to win their share of R100 000 in prizes.
Boland College is home to the national winner in the category “I have a product”, Darius Heath. An N6 Hospitality and Catering Services student at Stellenbosch campus, he entered his amazing product, Heath Sauces, a smoked jalapeño sauce with no preservatives, keeping it as natural and healthy as possible.
“It is a vindication of the structures and processes we put in place to create a culture of entrepreneurship at Boland College,” said Hyacinth Adams, Heath’s mentor and lecturer at Stellenbosch campus.
By creating awareness and opportunities to reinforce the attractiveness of beginning one’s own business, competitions of this nature produce a secure environment to experiment with concepts for products, services or business ideas, she pointed out. “They are especially beneficial to students who intend to pursue innovation, product development and business-oriented services,” Adams said. “Coupled with learning and coaching resources, participants can confidently pitch their businesses.”
Linda Dhladhla, an associate at Allan Grey Makers, said: “The national competition seeks to identify student entrepreneurs who are doing amazing work in this space and allow them to expose their business ideas. In South Africa, we have a high unemployment rate and there are not many employment opportunities. At Allan Grey Makers, we are encouraging students to pursue entrepreneurship as a career choice. We show them how to use education as an opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship, in pursuit of the eradication of poverty.”
