‘Madze’ launches partnership between Youth Fund and Limkokwing University

• The University will also provide mentorship services to funded beneficiaries under this program to ensure their success and sustainability

Mbabane – Historic. The word that best describes what transpired when the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga officially launched a partnership between the Youth Fund and Limkokwing University.

The partnership is aimed at capacitating the University’s entrepreneurship students to prepare finance ready business proposals to enable them to access funding from the Youth Fund.

Minister Bulunga said, “The fund is still available to finance youth-owned businesses due to the fact that there is still not enough business proposals worth funding being submitted by the youth. This partnership with Limkokwing University allows us to upscale our growing response initiatives to this challenge.”

Minister Bulunga added, “We remain committed to making the Youth Fund sustainable, effective and adequately responsive to the needs of our young people.”

Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund (YERF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bhekizwe Maziya on the other hand highlighted that, “The partnership of the Fund with Limkokwing is focusing on training the would-be applicants on entrepreneurship while they are still at the University preparing them for funding by YERF. The University will also provide mentorship services to funded beneficiaries under this program to ensure their success and sustainability.

YERF CEO Bhekizwe Maziya said, “This partnership together with the first one signed with the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) in September 2021 will help improve the training programs by the universities to ensure that the graduates they produce have what it takes to access funding, not only from YERF but from any financial institution.”

Limkokwing University Director Tfobile Gumede said this partnership strengthens an entrepreneurship programme that already exists within the institution. She said their vision is to truly accelerate entrepreneurship amongst young people.