BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
ABERVE of creatives, among them comedians and filmmakers, are set for the Value Creation Challenge forthcoming bootcamp where five lucky ones from 25 contestants will be selected for the acceleration programme inclusive of seed money.
In May, Eight2Five Innovation Hub, powered by Old Mutual in partnership with the British Council, invited owners of businesses and start-ups aged between 18 and 45 to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to the country’s socio-economic and environmental challenges.
Through the VCC, Eight2Five Innovation Hub will capacitate youth-run start-ups.
After the invitation, 50 participants were chosen in the first round and later trimmed to 25 who will now be going for the final selection bootcamp.
Among the successful 25 are award-winning comedians Victor “Doc Vikela” Mpofu, Prosper “Comic Pastor” Ngomashi and screenwriter-cum-co-founder of College Central Film, Derby Bheta.
Old Mutual, in a statement, said the top 25 comprises entrepreneurs and small businesses geographically spread across Zimbabwe with proven sustainable solutions towards socio-economic and environmental challenges were chosen after a rigorous exercise.
“Old Mutual wishes to congratulate the participants and wish them a successful challenge as they proceed to the next stage of the Value Creation Challenge. We look forward to meeting the top 25 during the selection bootcamp,” part of the statement read.
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“The selection bootcamp has been designed to build their capacity and help them shape their business models and prepare for the final pitch event where the final five will be selected for the acceleration programme inclusive of seed funding.”
Old Mutual said it is their continued priority to promote gender balance in providing opportunities for the youth.
“The Value Creation Challenge received a reasonable number of quality applications from entrepreneurs under the pillars Young and Funky, Climate Action, Emerging Technology, Digital Content Creation and Data Analytics.”
“The challenge attracted a fair female representation among the applicants this year, recording an increase in female qualifiers that made it to the top 25 as compared to last year. With the top 25 selection complete, it is now up to the finalists to bring their A-game and secure a spot in the top five.
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