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Society Reporter
A programme to promote business entrepreneurship within schools has been introduced by a local organisation and is benefiting hundreds of students across the country.
Under the scheme, Emergination Africa recently adopted eight entrepreneurship teams from learning institutions who received a financial injection of US$5 000 each, as business start-up packages.
The schools have been urged to start self-sustaining businesses and create employment within the communities they operate through a programme dubbed, “Virtual Innovation Accelerator”.
Some of the projects that are already in motion include fruit juice production and biogas manufacturing.
Five students from Bulawayo’s Northlea High School launched a fruit juice that is produced from the baobab fruit.
“Our juice, which we have decided to call Nutrisip, has become a break time hit at our school,” said O’shea Manomano, leader of the business team at Northlea High.
A biogas energy venture has also been unveiled at Oriel Boys High in Harare while a multi-purpose small grains shelling business is now in full throttle at Hippo Valley High in the Lowveld.
Mzingwane High School in Matabeleland South is now into tomato processing while Queen Elizabeth High in Harare has started producing biodegradable diapers.
Buoyed by the success of the pilot project, Emergination Africa, has now turned its attention to enhancing the business skills of school heads and educators.
Subsequently, the organisation launched a Chief Educator Officer Launchpad (CEO Launchpad) programme in partnership with ZB Bank, which aims to train 70 school leaders across the country.
Training workshops have already been conducted in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, and Masvingo.
Emergination Africa country director, Mr Farai Mushawasha, believes the training workshops will go a long way in assisting school heads to begin to create sustainable ventures.
“There is a need to rethink schools from being institutions of knowledge transfer into economic zones that have the potential of sustaining their own operations without heavily relying on school fees and donations,” Mr Mushawasha said.
“Similarly, schools should be in a position to create job opportunities for the communities in which they exist through the setting up of business ventures.
“Also, schools must lead in creation and innovation in order to drive and feed into the industry. Likewise, they (schools) should be led in the industry-solutions mode. The National Business Case Competition (NBCC) made us realise that learners have solutions to the various challenges that society has today,” he added.
Mr Mushawasha reckons schools should not solely depend on tuition fees for funding and supporting various initiatives.
“Without any fees coming into the coffers of schools, education will die a very fast and permanent death. It is this mindset that must be transformed where schools must begin to think of operating profitable business ventures that will help in sustaining the day-to-day running of schools without relying on donations and fees,” he said.
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