Knights of Pendragon and partner to lend a helping hand
“Although R25 000 was raised, another R25 000 is needed.”
The Rotary Club of Knights Pendragon hopes to raise R50 000 for a youth entrepreneurship competition.
Club president Andrew Connold said the project will be for disadvantaged township youth between the ages of 16 and 23.
“Rotary and their project partner Learning Alive, a registered PBO providing supplementary education to underprivileged communities, have identified 90 young people from Rustenburg, Diepsloot, Alexandra and Thembisa townships to take part in the competition,” said Andrew.
The participants are top performers who have completed a two-year English Access Micro scholarship, funded by the US Department of State, to improve their English skills and enhance their personal development to increase their employment prospects.
“The youth entrepreneurship competition is aimed at teaching entrepreneurial skills in the current climate where finding employment is challenging.”
The competition requires participants to form teams of five, conceive a practical, achievable micro-business concept, to draft a business plan and pitch it to a panel of judges.
Bill Brunjes of the Rotary Club of Knights Pendragon said the final phase will be a ‘Dragons Den’ type session.
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“The top eight teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges who will select the winners and reward them with cash prizes to be used as seed money to develop the product or service presented,” said Bill.
“The ‘Dragons Den’ session will be widely publicised on social media and other communication outlets to spread the word and further encourage other entrepreneurs to get going,” he explained.
Andrew said during the planning process, Rotarians and Learning Alive staff will guide, mentor and coach the teams.
The winning team will secure a small seed-capital budget to assist them to put their business plan into practice over six months.
The objective is to achieve sales of their products and/or services and the proving of the business concept.
Learning Alive and Rotary will continue to provide support and mentorship to afford the winning team the best opportunity for success and, hopefully, the establishment of a sustainable micro-business.
“Although R25 000 was raised, another R25 000 is needed,” said Bill.
Contact Bill on 082 443 1519 or billbrn@tscali.co.za for more information.
• To assist with a donation towards the project, pay into the following account:
Club bank account: Name: Rotary Club of Knights Pendragon
Bank: Standard Bank of South Africa
Account number: 02 367 148 3
Branch: Greenstone Mall
Code 6342
Beneficiary reference: Initials and surname/company name
Email proof of payment to treasurer@rckp.org.za and president@rckp.org.za
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