Inside Education Reporter
THE University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is gearing up for the Finals of the 2023 UKZN Inspiring Impact Challenge – an annual competition showcasing initiatives by UKZN students, staff, and alumni. Participants in the competition are social entrepreneurs tackling some of society’s biggest challenges in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Now in its third year, the competition forms part of the UKZN Inspiring Impact Campaign. This year’s instalment kicked off with a call for submissions in August. Following a rigorous screening and shortlisting, 30 out of around 220 entrants were selected.
The 30 entrants are undergoing a 3-week Accelerator Training programme sponsored and led by enterprise development agency and implementing partner Kulisha Consulting.
The training prepares competitors for the main event and focuses on leadership, design thinking, business modelling, sustainability, and pitch readiness.
The competitors, divided into four categories – Undergraduate Students, Post-graduate Students, Staff, and Alumni – are experts in various disciplines, including mathematics, agriculture, business management and engineering. The focus of the projects to be showcased ranges from youth empowerment and career guidance to STEM education and Agribusiness.
Managing Director of Kulisha Consulting, Kwazini Zulu, says this year’s competition has gained more entries from women as well as more international attention, “There are several local projects with international reach as well as entries from alumni who are based in a few Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. We are impressed with the calibre of entrants and excited to see how they’ll perform as we enter the next phase of this competition.”
The finalists, to be shortlisted on the 24th of October, will go on to compete in the main event on the 30th of October, where they will deliver elevator pitch presentations on each of their social enterprises to a panel of judges made up of experts from the Banking industry, Academia and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
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