Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Young entrepreneurs rewarded for hard work

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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