1.GETTING INTO SHAPE
SHAPE is an initiative that is aimed into activating potential entrepreneurship in youth. I am so honored to be one of the recipients of the SHAPE scholarship. When I first discovered http://ezone.ukzn.ac.za/SHAPE I decided to sign up and give it a try without expecting much. This scholarship was the first one I decided to apply, after a few weeks I received an email that I had been chosen to receive this scholarship! At that moment I was thinking, “This is too good to be true” but I also got a message from a friend saying “congratulations business woman, we got into SHAPE!” that’s when I realized that it was real indeed. I was all sorts of emotions. This serves as an encouragement for me to excel both academic and in leadership sphere. The scholarship has not only provided me with the beginning to the business world, but also plenty of opportunities to interact with others in the same field. Making a difference in business world, and begin to use my knowledge in real world experiences. I love knowing that I always have a support system behind me.
2. HOPES AS YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
It is beyond my wildest dreams to be recognized by SHAPE as a young entrepreneur. Despite the concerns over the lack of jobs and the right people to fill them, I am totally energized by the vision and purpose I have as a young entrepreneur to bring to the world. One must have a drive that they have what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs regardless of the many challenges that they will face. When you are young, the concept of networking is very alien and you don’t know how to go about raising capital. SHAPE decides to close that gap, so exciting! According to our government, the answer to unemployment is foreign direct investment. But I don’t believe that’s the only option—we should also look to nurturing South Africa’s small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs)
As a young as I am, I strongly believe that there’s more hope in young entrepreneurs. The fresh business ideas they bring up will make a huge difference in the economy of the country. There’s no committee that says, ‘This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.’ Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone.
Once again, there’s more hope in young entrepreneurs.
