FNBB’s Bodiragatsi Jwane more than just a competition
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday May 22, 2022 04:06
This came to light recently during the initiative’s talent show and prize giving ceremony, as 30 young creatives across different arts categories displayed their various talents to compete for the ultimate prizes there to be won.
The arts categories that were contested under include Dance, Music, Poetry, Photography, Visual and Fashion. The top three (3) winners in each category walked away with P15,000, P10,000 and P7,500 respectively. There was also a P5,000 cash prize for all finalists including the winners.
But just before the winners were announced, all finalists exhibited their talents much to the delight of those that attended. Rinyeleri ja Meraba topped the dance category, while Oshxma won the music category. The poetry category was taken away by Phodiso Modirwa, with Oaitse Mabuta and Morolong walking away with the top prizes for photography and visual categories respectively. The fashion category was snatched by Mitchell Barati Phokontsi of IASA.
The winners and the finalists will share over P600,000 invested by FNBB Foundation as business start-up seed capital for this year's competitions.
FNBB retail director, Boitumelo Mogopa said as part of the programme, the Foundation organised an entrepreneurial course for all the 30 finalists to upskill their business acumen and to teach them to value their talent and art as a potential and meaningful business venture.
“Our main goal is to motivate and inspire an entrepreneurial spirit amongst the creative artists. Therefore, we hope that the prize money, the business start-up seed capital and entrepreneurial training will propel the youth to commercialise their talent or invest in business growth for those who are already into entrepreneurship," said Mogopa.
This year’s edition was organised in collaboration with the FNBB Retail segment, as part of the bank’s staff volunteer programme that encourages staff members to dedicate their time, skills, expertise, and other resource for good causes within the community.
“Evidently, the Retail segment is passionate about supporting the creative arts industry. In 2019, the team ran a four (4) day intensive training under the theme, ‘Fashion in the Age of Technology’. The training equipped young aspiring fashion designers with sound business management skills, covering topics such as bookkeeping, banking, branding, and marketing as well as fundamentals of penetrating the fashion industry in Botswana and globally”, she added.
“It is no secret that Batswana youth are highly talented. There is so much to unearth, and this initiative provides a platform for Batswana to witness great talent. FNBB will continue working together with local communities to create shared value and community development, especially since they were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mogopa.
FNBB continues to share one percent of its profit with the FNBB Foundation to facilitate the creation of shared value with the community and looks forward to investing in the creative sector in the long-term. FNBB Foundation Board Trustee, Dorcas Kgosietsile, said the Foundation has invested over P2.5 million in the creative arts industry in the last two years as they felt it prudent to keep the creativity and the talents alight. Kgosietsile said the initiative is specifically targeting the youth who are currently struggling with unemployment.
The Bodiragatsi Jwame, Lentswe Lame initiative was first introduced by the FNBB Foundation at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, to financially uplift local creative artists and at the same time give them a voice during the pandemic.