Get Involved, Help Foster Entrepreneurial Thinking

by Alexander McLeod on 10/09/12 at 2:34 pm
1 comment

If you have ever taken the time to listen to Sir Ken Robinson, he constantly reminds us that “Creativity” should be at the heart of our education system and that we need an education system transformation. In my opinion, he speaks the truth. Yet our current education system steers learners away from developing their creative side – as I like to put; “there is no fostering of entrepreneurial thinking amongst our school learners”.

If you read the article about my School Entrepreneurship Programme, you would have picked up that I am doing just that – I am affording learners the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. To date just over 100 learners have registered for my programme with no less than 8 success stories of learners starting up and sustaining micro-businesses. The programme’s success has been recognised and as a result, the School Entrepreneurship Programme has been endorsed by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and the CIO Forum.
The learners that have come through my programme have paid to register and attend the programme. It is time for me to make this programme accessible for learners from schools in disadvantaged communities. As is the case with such initiatives though, funding or sponsorship is required for this. It is with this in mind that I am appealing to you, the IDEATE reader and fellow entrepreneur.

I will be running 5 x 1 Day School Entrepreneurship Workshops for 50 learners from 5 different High Schools on the Cape Flats. I have chosen the schools from this area because I grew up there, more specifically in Lincoln Estate, Athlone and there is not much going on there in terms of empowerment initiatives. I want to do something about this and you can help me make it happen.

I am looking for 5 individuals or businesses to sponsor 1 group of learners(10 from a High School) each to attend a 1 Day Workshop. The cost to sponsor these 10 learners is a mere R 6500.00. For this amount, you will be contributing to towards the following:

The transport of these 10 learners from their school on the Cape Flats area to the lecture venue and back to their school on the day
Providing lunch packs for all 10 learners attending the 1 Day holiday programme
Contributing to the implementation of training workshops in Entrepreneurship and Marketing for 10 learners on the 1 Day holiday programme
Contributing to the running of an Innovation Workshop hosted by International Award Winning Social Entrepreneur, Charles Maisel

The two pictures are of Charles Maisel running his Innovation Workshop on the School Entrepreneurship Programme that ran at SACS High School from February 2012 – July 2012.

So what is your Return on Investment ?

You will be the sponsor for one of the days, where your branding material(supplied by your organisation) will line the lecture venue
You will be allocated a 45 minute slot on the day of the holiday programme that you sponsor to profile your organisation and engage with these learners about entrepreneurship
Your brand will be showcased on all communication that goes out on the IDEATE Blog leading up to and during the holiday programme
You will receive a headline banner advert on the IDEATE blog for one week

If this is something that you, as an individual, or your business would like to get involved in, then please contact me on alex@water-berry.co.za or 082 497 4517. You can sponsor more than one group if you like !

Let’s make a difference. Let’s give an opportunity to 50 learners to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Let’s make a difference in the lives of 50 high school learners from the Cape Flats area.

Thank you

Alexander McLeod is passionate about fostering entrepreneurship in South Africa. He has developed and is currently implementing independent School Entrepreneurship Programmes. As at 31 July 2012, he has had just over 100 learners from 6 different High Schools register for his programme. Alexander has just over 8 years experience in professional services having worked as a management consultant and project manager at reputable organisations such as Deloitte and Business Innovation Group. He has been running his own business, Water Berry, for about 2 years and has a core focus on entrepreneurial development. He is passionate about education and giving people the opportunity to live their dreams. View more articles by Alexander McLeod.

Tags: entrepreneurship, Ideate, School Entrepreneurship Programme, Young Entrepreneurs

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