Gayaza, UG: Several hundred students and their teachers concluded the five-day boot camp stage of the annual Stanbic National Schools Championship (NSC), showcasing their entrepreneurship skills and innovative business ideas.

In his closing remarks, Francis Karuhanga, Chief Executive of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Sports for embracing the NSC initiative.

“The Stanbic National Schools Championship has impacted over 480,000 learners, teachers, and the community through direct and indirect beneficiaries. I envision the National Schools Championship reaching millions of youths, both in rural and urban areas, to undertake this innovation quest,” he said.

Hosted by Gayaza High School, the boot camp offered students interaction with mentors through various training sessions, including psychosocial and mental health, starting small businesses, building successful brands, marketing, structuring ideas, and understanding customer needs. Students also participated in a market stimulation activity to showcase their sales skills.

The ninth edition of the NSC, themed ‘Empowering the Job Creators of Tomorrow’ with the 2024 tagline ‘Powering Innovation for Job Creation’, continues to foster entrepreneurial spirit among Uganda’s youth.

Diana Ondoga, Manager of Corporate Social Investments at Stanbic Bank, highlighted the boot camp’s focus on mindset change for learners aged 13 to 18.

“This program seeks to extract the potential within these learners, preparing them to address societal challenges. The boot camp provides skilling in areas such as the business model canvas, financial literacy, personal development, and psychosocial wellness. We also challenged them to turn UGX 50,000 into a profit,” she said.

The National Schools Championship, Stanbic Bank’s flagship Corporate Social Investment, has developed over 200 successful businesses, showcasing the bank’s commitment to tackling youth unemployment and bridging the gap between education and job creation.

Ondoga noted the impressive results from the market stimulation activity, where the best group generated revenues of UGX 260,000 and a profit of UGX 210,000 from an initial UGX 50,000.
“These learners are being reminded of their potential and the value they can bring to society,” she added.

The competition includes four main categories: the Student Grow Challenge for vocational and secondary schools with active projects or businesses, the Student Spark Challenge for schools with innovative ideas, the AlumGrow Challenge for schools that have previously participated in the boot camp and started unique businesses or social projects, and the Teachinnovate for Teachers category for innovative teaching approaches or business projects by teachers.