Village Capital & Pearson To Award $150,000 To Two Best ‘Edupreneurs’ In Africa
“We’re looking to build great companies that improve the quality of education for millions of low-income children across the world, and believe that entrepreneurs can see opportunities that larger players have overlooked,” said, Ross Baird, Executive Director of Village Capital.
The two “Edupreneurs” will walk away with $75,000 each, and use the money as seed funding for an education oriented business. They will be selected through a peer review process; whereby fellow education entrepreneurs will be reviewing them. The two winners will also be invited to attend the Pearson workshops in South Africa, where they will take part in competitions with customized modules in business and education topics. They will also be given some mentoring advice from other entrepreneurs, professionals and investors.
“We’re excited to scout across Southern Africa for this unique incubation model and to continue bolstering the global ecosystem supporting education entrepreneurs,” said Ember Melcher, Program Manager for Edupreneurs at the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund.
Edupreneurs from all over the African continent are encouraged to apply, the application detail can be read here. Eligible edupreneurs are those serving in low-income communities and intend to have a positive impact on that community through their education oriented business.
Pearson South Africa, CEO, Riaan Jonck said that it is programmes like the Edupreneur and their promise of future success that have led to small businesses becoming the key economic drivers and tools for eradicating unemployment and poverty. Riaan added, “Enterprise Development is a key component of our transformation strategy, and we are looking forward to seeing innovative ‘edupreneurs’ emerge from this programme.”
The “Edupreneur” application period closes at the end of August, 2014. The applicants selected for the programme will be announced by the end of September. It is important to note that Village Capital has a lot of experience in such initiatives; it has operated other similar 27 programmes in other parts of the world that served over 400 entrepreneurs. It also has a similar program running in India.