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67 young entrepreneurs get 67 seconds to pitch business ideas on Mandela Day

SAB will be inviting 67 young South African entrepreneurs based in Johannesburg a total of 67 seconds to pitch their startup idea during Nelson Mandela Day on Friday, 18 July in Braamfontein. Successful pitches will gain access to an SAB funded programme comprising of business development support and stand a chance of winning grant funding in the form of seed capital.

The initiative, called The Lean Jump, is a pilot targeting young entrepreneurs based in Gauteng and is the brainchild of SAB KickStart, SAB’s youth entrepreneurship programme; The Hookup Dinner (THUD), an innovative entrepreneurship networking platform; and Edge Growth, specialists in enterprise and supplier development.

Potential participants of The Lean Jump are invited to pitch their ideas at #THUDJozi Mandela Day Special at 9am Braamfontein, 19 Melle Street by the Branson Center of Entrepreneurship.

To participate, register your name on at this link to receive a formal invitation for this exciting opportunity AND/OR visit this link and register.

THUD provides a platform for entrepreneurs to network with likeminded individuals and to communicate their innovative business ideas. The #THUD initiative, powered by Lifesgud, has taken the local young entrepreneurship world by storm with sessions being held in several major cities across the country throughout the year.

The Lean Jump is aimed at expanding SAB KickStart’s efforts to:

instill a culture of entrepreneurship amongst young South Africans;
offer leading startup development support to promising small business;
invest in the creation of a quality pipeline of entrepreneurs in core industries and sectors;
develop and entrench a thriving ecosystem of support for the development of business ideas
and bridge the enterprise development offering gap for startup businesses.

Entrepreneurs with successful pitches on Mandela Day will be provided with six months of virtual business mentorship as well as grant funding to invest in growing their business idea or business operations currently not older than 6 months.

Edge Growth will assist successful pitches, providing entrepreneurs with business development support services, throughout the programme. Edge Growth shall apply best practice start-up growth methodology, entrenching behaviours and practices in start-ups that will increase the likelihood that the will succeed.

Once they complete their 6 month business intervention programme, SAB KickStart will provide 10 successful candidates with an opportunity to participate in its youth entrepreneurship development competition. Successful businesses will also stand a chance to get a share of R300 000 as seed capital. Seed capital is for the use of putting the business concept into operation or towards additional support for marginal growth.

For more exciting initiatives around entrepreneurship follow SAB KickStart on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for The Hookup Dinner in your city.