The City of Johannesburg has chosen 120 young people with start-up businesses to go on an ICT training boot camp to train how to make their technological skills commercially viable.
Organised jointly with information and communications technology companies - Softstart BTI, Business Lab; Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and Microsoft - the boot camp takes participants on an entrepreneurial journey that will include learning about business models, business planning, marketing and social media, how to gain competitive advantage, innovation, Microsoft apps and technologies amongst the most.
PR Councillor, Noni Mambo told the participants recently that this is a huge opportunity as the City Of Johannesburg aims to substantially increase the skills of the youth and encourages the youth to take education seriously as it is the only weapon that can change the world.
She expressed appreciation to Microsoft and Softstart BTI, the biggest initiator of this programme.
Nelson Veersasamy, CEO of Softstart BTI, welcomed the partnership with the City.
“Softstart BTI provides an integrated package of work space, shared office services, access to specialized equipment and value added services like management assistance, access to finance, marketing and networking support. This is a good opportunity for the youth to advance, and to be part of the job creation in the city.”
Business Lab Chief Executive Officer Bashir Khan said, as part of the bootcamp, participants will have an opportunity to attend a TECH PITCH where business ideas can be pitched to a panel of evaluation and top candidates will be chosen for further support initiatives as determined by Microsoft.
“While this is a huge opportunity, young entrepreneurs should grab it and become fearless for it will open doors for greater business opportunities,” he added.
