The winners of the
Senwes entrepreneurs competition for primary schools were announced in
Bloemfontein on 4 February. No fewer than 187 entries had been received, seven
of which had gone through to the final round.
This year’s first
prize of R5 000 was awarded to Arno Muller from Jim Fouché Primary School
in Bloemfontein for his product ‘night lights’. Ju-Marie Swanepoel from the
Sentrale Volkskool in Kroonstad walked away with the second prize of
R3 000, and Suné du Plessis, also from Jim Fouché, received the third
prize of R2 000. The other four entries in the final round each pocketed
an amount of R1 000.
The winning project
of the competition was LED lights that had been installed in cardboard
containers. The aim was to use them in the home in a passage, on stairs, in
rooms and even in grocery cupboards. Arno also showed that this way of
providing light was much more cost-effective than using electric lights.
Dr Johan van Zyl
(Head of the Unit for Entrepreneurship: University of the Free State) was the
guest speaker and encouraged the young entrepreneurs not to become discouraged
if their first attempts failed. ‘Learn from your mistakes. Failure gives you a
chance to start again. Think innovatively and outside the box,’ he said.
He also mentioned
that of the 50 countries participating in the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor
(GEM), South Africa performed the worst in entrepreneurship. ‘Development in a
country demands entrepreneurial businesses with the potential of growing, that
can remain innovative and that set strategic goals,’ he said.
Source: Senwes #IFAMAFRICA
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