Each participant was awarded R2 000 for their sterling performance at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE)* in 2020. The monetary award was a reward sponsored by the EDHE to the studentpreneurs for the use towards the development of their business pursuits.
Studentpreneur, Mondli Mathonsi, says: “It is always a great pleasure to be honoured by the Vice-Chancellor, it has given me the extra boost I needed to continue my work. It is a great feeling to know that our university supports its students even with things that are not purely academic but rather related to students’ overall growth as individuals. The support is appreciated.”
The EDHE Programme is people-focused. It is intended to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of students, academics and leaders. The intention is for students to be more successful in terms of becoming economically active during and after their tertiary education. Last year’s project coordinator, Dr Ferdinand Niyimbanira, says the purpose of the competition is to identify, reward and support the top student entrepreneurs at the University of Mpumalanga.
The students, Simon Mashile, Mondli Mathonsi, Ripfumelo Jessica Mathye and Thapelo Mamiane participated in the competition during lockdown. They lived the UMP Value of Adaptability and adjusted themselves to prevailing conditions and did the institution proud.
Thapelo Mamiane says business has been positive in such difficult times. With the aid of UMP’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CEFRI) the right steps are being taken towards making businesses sustainable and profitable.
“The value UMP has placed on entrepreneurial excellence has been clear to see in that we have a successful ENACTUS team and now we have representatives in EDHE competitions. This goes to show how much our participation is valued by the management of the institution and that we can be an example to other students,” he says.
The participants worked very hard on their presentation videos and submitted them in line with the requirements of the competition. All this work was done remotely and online. They simply adapted to the “new normal”. They did not allow the challenges and limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to stand in their way.
Mamaine adds that he learnt that competition can be a good thing and to use the motivation of succeeding to drive you to being the best.
“It was beneficial from a networking standpoint as well. We got to mingle with top executives and CEOs who gave us better insight into the business environment and how to improve our ventures.”
The University’s Management team is excited to see that there are students at UMP who are taking entrepreneurship seriously and are participating in the EDHE Programme, which aims to promote entrepreneurship in institutions of higher learning.
Mathonsi further adds that the competition has helped him to gain more business skills, which brought growth to his knowledge to the entrepreneur world.
“During preparations of the presentation slides, there were new insights that I acquired that would potentially grow my business such as market analysis and how to be better than my competitors. All that new knowledge has given me the edge. The opportunity of competing with other entrepreneurs brings the ignition to be better than you were. In order for a person or a business to grow, it needs a competitor so the need for change and development is ignited,” he says.
He says his business has grown since the competition. “At the current state, business has grown ever since the day of entering the competition and it is all thanks to the support given by UMP and the experience of the EDHE.
The Vice-Chancellor, members of Management, the staff and students would like to thank Drs Ferdinand Niyimbanira and Mazanai Musara for their work in coordinating this project at UMP and supporting the students throughout the process.
*The Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) is a Division of Universities South Africa (USAf) and is responsible for entrepreneurship development in South African Higher Education Institutions. It was launched in 2018/2019 to allow university students to compete in four categories, namely: Business Idea, Existing Technology Business, Existing Social Impact Business and Existing business: General.
@ Additional text Cleopatra Makhaga. Pictures @ChrisplPhoto.