Pigg’s Peak Town Council played host on 10 September to the graduation ceremony for 36 of the young people and women, who had participated in the Entrepreneurship Skills Development Programme.

Tackling unemployment

With funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formerly DFID), Pigg’s Peak Town Council worked with Junior Achievement to establish the Entrepreneurship Skills Development Programme, a comprehensive response to the high unemployment rate in Pigg’s Peak. In the current challenging economic times, it has become imperative to upskill people and enable them to establish their businesses, rather than be overly reliant on the private sector for providing employment. 

The Entrepreneurship Skills Development programme set out to assist 'out of school' youth and women to turn their ideas into viable business models; to give participants resource mobilisation skills to fund their business; and to provide each person with a  mentor.

The comprehensive training started with a boot camp that focusing on the foundations of entrepreneurship; generating ideas and opportunities; and leadership. The next stage was five weeks of business management, where participants turned their business ideas into bankable business plans. The graduates spent the next six months a mentorship programme with experienced entrepreneurs, who guided them through the process of making their bankable business plans a reality.

Changing lives

The ceremony was officiated by HRH Prince Simelane (representing the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Representative, Senator Manqoba Khumalo), who told the gathering: “I extend gratitude to Pigg’s Peak Town Council and Junior Achievement, for this noble project, that is changing the lives of emaSwati and I hope they will continue to transfer their invaluable experience to other projects throughout the country.”

CLGF Project Officer for Eswatini, Ms Colisile Tfwala, said: “We are grateful to FCDO for supporting this initiative and are very proud of the graduates. We hope this will help put more people into employment and contribute to the post-pandemic recovery period.”

After this graduation ceremony, these entrepreneurs will then receive on-going business advisory and coaching support for three years to assist them during the challenging early years of their start-ups.