Take real business to the classrooms
MIDRAND – Beaulieu learners battle it out in an SME challenge.
Beaulieu College hosted a gala evening in Kyalami for their Small Medium Enterprises (SME) Finals Challenge where eight learners pitched their business ideas in hopes of winning prizes to further pursue them.
The eight young entrepreneurs out of the overall 40 who took part in the competition, presented business solutions to everyday problems people face on 19 June.
These were presented in front of their parents and a panel of five judges, some who were business people, in the hopes of getting support from them to kick-start their business ideas.
Business studies teacher and head of entrepreneurship at Beaulieu College, Sumari Purdon, said they had knockout rounds where everybody had a chance to present their business ideas to the judges, and out of those they chose eight candidates to present at the gala evening. “This is our first year doing the event,” said Purdon. “We believe that to build our country and make our economy strong, we need to grow entrepreneurs and the best time to do it is when they are young.
“Build all these skills into them when they are young, give them opportunities to go learn from those that are already doing it and those that know about it, so that they can build up their ideas to choose the correct career path and then from there build their own businesses and provide loads of jobs for our people.”
At the end of all the presentations and adjudication by the judges, learners Espen Koko, Megan Azmanov and Krista Matsila were awarded entrepreneurship training for six months and a free programme with Future Proof. This was in order to help them learn how to ‘activate entrepreneurial thinking and action through skills needed to start and run a business while building behavioural competencies that provide solid foundations for success’.
Fellow learner Lexi Hultzer was awarded a laptop to assist her with her business idea and won a training opportunity for soft-skills and tech development along with Selene Chiag, Oliver Welsh and Takudzwa Tembedza worth R20 000 each.
Bianca Pillay and Taylor Engelbrecht received apprentice opportunities at restaurant group Piza e Vino where they will learn more about marketing, branding and how a restaurant set-up works. They will also have the opportunity to showcase their products at exhibition stalls at Kyalami Corner in December.
Front: Taylor Engelbrecht, Bianca Pillay, Krista Matsila, Selene Chiang, Lexi Hultzer and Megan Azmanov. Photo: Ofentse Ditlopo
Discovery Limited presented all entrepreneurs an opportunity to visit their new building in Sandton and to work with their innovation team to help them better develop their product ideas.
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