Stanford programme scouts for innovators across Botswana

Lindiwe Mozola | Wednesday October 25, 2017 13:40

Addressing entrepreneurs during a Kgotla meeting recently, the director of the Go-to Market Botswana, Solo Mongame said the programme is aimed at cultivating and equipping entrepreneurs with necessary tools to transform their passion and ideas into scalable ventures.

He said the programme is appropriate for innovators from all industries who have recently started their ventures and have active customers. “This programme is sponsored by De Beers in conjuction with Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports & Culture Development and Botswana Innovation Hub.

It is aimed at a young Motswana entrepreneur with any business. It has been running for a period of a year now where-by as the team we are travelling in all the districts in Botswana selecting some of the entrepreneurs for the boot camp programme,” he said.

In addition Mongame said Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the best internationally recognised school of business, which have nurtured millionaires in the world, such as Facebook App developer, Mark Zuckerberg. On her part the programme manager, Kutlo Thathana added that the Standford Go-to Market programme is an intensive, one-week entrepreneurship bootcamp taught by Standford Graduates School of Business faculty that will be held at the Botswana Innovation Hub in Gaborone March next year.

“As we are touring around the country we will be teaching entrepreneurs on how the Standford Go-to Marked programme can transform their businesses to be viable afterwards they will apply for the boot camp.

Participants will then be selected based on both the potential for success of the indiviudual and their business ideas,” she said.

She added that the programme is going to be a game changer for the entrepreneurs, as they will be taught by esteemed business professionals who will equip them with tools to use in expanding one’s business, hence giving them a market exposure.

She however said that it would then rest on the entrepreneures how they use those tools and knowledge in bettering and expanding their business to meet today’s demands of the global village.

Thathana said Palapye is their first stop, which is the centre for Central District noting that they were happy about the turn out.

The De Beers Group recently unveiled a $3 million investment in the three-year partnership with Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) to empower young, aspiring entrepreneurs and established business owners in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.