Swazi Observer

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RSSC, JA LAUNCH 2ND EDITION YES ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME

By Majaha Nkonyane | 2018-04-17

THE Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC) in conjunction with Junior Achiever JA yesterday launched the second edition of the Youth Entrepreneurship Support ‘YES’programme.

This was at Simunye Country Club where the minister of commerce industry and trade officially launched the programme.

The programme hosted 30 aspiring youth entrepreneurs which began their two month training that will be swiftly followed by a mentorship programme.

“I am particularly excited by the desire from RSSC to improve the socio-economic status of neighbouring communities.

“This indeed is a true spirit of corporate citizenship that I challenge other companies to emulate.

“The call to create jobs is directed to everyone, even the youth themselves, hence we applaud RSSC for creating this platform where young people test their entrepreneurial acumen,” Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade Jabulani Mabuza said.

The government of the country was applauded for the continued support in the area of entrepreneurship.

“May I thank government for her continued effort to support the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country through various means such as the newly established graduate enterprise programme (GEP) and the support of youth entrepreneurship initiatives such as youth enterprise fund, ja Swaziland, Enactus and Kickstart,” JA board chairperson Nokukhanya Gamedze said.

The programme was also lauded for hosting more women as last year’s programme is said to have been unique in the sense that there were more young women enrolled than males, with a record of 63 per cent women participating.

It was noted that the programme will be providing mentorship to the aspiring entrepreneur after the two month boot camp.

“One of the key lessons learned is the importance of mentorship where we provide much needed guidance to the budding entrepreneur. To respond to this need, JA Swaziland is strengthening this component of the programme to ensure that the young entrepreneurs get the full benefits of this programme,” she said.

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