BY PHESHEYA IAN KUNENE
MBABANE – A defining moment for young entrepreneurs in the country as EU and COSPE-Swaziland injects over E1 million for the youth.
In partnership with the European Union in Eswatini and COSPE-Swaziland, the YES Project hosted a Business and Administration Training for 22 seed grants winners coming from 16 communities of the project across the country’s four regions.
The training was aimed at capacitating the Youth and women with business management skills, record keeping, book-keeping, marketing skills, and cash flow management, as well as getting informed on how to legally formalize their businesses.
This project aims to deliver employment, income generation and financial inclusion to the young women and men in different communities across the country; through the establishment of a grant funding programmes to the youths, and the provision of capacity-building to young entrepreneurs.
“The EU strongly believes that providing jobs and supporting young entrepreneurs is one of the most effective ways to enable households and communities in Eswatini to manage the ongoing shocks and contribute to promoting sustainable development. We are therefore excited to continue and expand this successful partnership with Kwakha Indvodza and COSPE-Swaziland for the benefit of young women and men in the country,” said the EU Ambassador to Eswatini Karsten Mecklenburg said.
On the last day of the week long training, the 22 winners were awarded seed grants amounting to over a million Emalangeni (E1 037 913, 35).
Kwakha Indvodza said the programme has helped new entrepreneurs develop their entrepreneurial skills and gain business experience through the training. At the same time, the entrepreneurs benefited from new ideas, insights and energy that came from other young people at the training.
“Congratulations to all the winners who crafted social impactful ideas that will not only generate profit for the business, but also contribute to the social lives of their communities,” said through a statement shared on their online platforms.
