By Inside Biz
An entrepreneurial knowledge buffet!
Keen attendees to the upcoming Leadership Growth Forum event will be pleasured to diverse, practical, and rich knowledge in growing businesses into global giants.
Themed ‘Leadership and Entrepreneurship: Building and Journeying from Small Enterprise to a Global Powerhouse in an Emerging Market’, the event is all set for this Friday at the Mountain View in Mbabane and the speakers will be McDonald’s owner Zanele Mvelase, Black Mamba Foods CEO Claudia Castellanos and Pamdzi Investments Founder Gordon Bennett.
Speaking to the LGF Media Liaison Officer, Phiwe Dlamini, she said they had organized speakers that represented diverse entrepreneurship experiences when asked what prompted the category of speakers.
“We have a young and upcoming entrepreneur who left corporate to start the entrepreneurship journey. He will share what it takes to make such a bold move and how to prepare for it. Most importantly he will share lessons learnt. We also have a SA businesswoman who was born and raised in Eswatini. She will share what it takes to build businesses outside the comfort of your home country. She will also share how being Swati set her apart in South Africa.
“Lastly, we have lined up a speaker who managed to start a brand that is doing well globally. She will be sharing lessons on how to build global brands from a small or emerging economy,” explained the communications liaison officer.
When asked what made the speakers stand out, Dlamini explained that Gordon Bennet represented young entrepreneurs who had either left corporate or were planning to leave corporate to start their entrepreneurship journey- stating that his story on how he left the corporate world to start his own business should be inspiring for a lot of young entrepreneurs and those contemplating entrepreneurship.
“Claudia represents entrepreneurs who wish to build global brands. Her journey as founder of Black Mamba – a brand that is doing well globally positions her as a credible source for sharing insights on what it takes to build global brands, mainly from a market like ours.
“Zanele will be sharing insights on what it takes to be an Eswatini-born entrepreneur in a tough economy like Eswatini. Her being born and raised in Eswatini and having to go through different challenges to be where she is today presents a great opportunity to learn from her, more especially for those who wish to grow their businesses beyond Eswatini.”
Initially, the LGF Communications Liaison Officer said the motivation behind the theme was the fact that they knew that a lot of emaSwati wished to venture into entrepreneurship and those already in entrepreneurship had aspirations to grow their business to global enterprises.
“The idea is to help facilitate an engagement platform where those who have already walked the journey can share their experiences and guidance with those who are still aspiring. We also want to demonstrate that the size of our economy does not mean we do not have what it takes to build massive enterprises as emaSwati,” explained Dlamini.
“We also wish to address the topic of side hustles and when one can move from side ‘hustling’ to being a full-time entrepreneur. We also want to engage the issue of leadership and entrepreneurship. Here, we want to understand the kind of leadership that entrepreneurs need to be successful,” she explained.
Dlamini then concluded, stating that the event would assist attendees in acquiring the skills, discipline, and competencies required to build and run a successful business.
The Leadership Growth Forum (LGF) is a not-for-profit forum that offers exposure to global thought leadership, and a wide range of key leadership resources to empower aspiring leaders to advance their careers and live up to their full potential.