New School Enterprise Challenge Launched by International Development Charity

New School Enterprise Challenge Launched by International Development Charity

14th June 2011

A new enterprise competition aimed at schools from all over the developing world has been launched this month by UK-based international development charity, Teach A Man To Fish. The School Enterprise Challenge asks schools to establish their own sustainable, profit-making enterprises that will generate income and act as a learning resource for years to come. Schools have until June 30th to register, and a number of substantial financial prizes are on offer, including a USD $10,000 prize for the overall winner and three runners up prizes of $5,000. All formal educational institutions, primary through tertiary, are eligible to apply.

“If our children are to rise to the challenges that the world is facing, they will have to be enterprising indeed. School-based enterprises represent an ideal educational opportunity for encouraging the new generation of entrepreneurs; economic, social and environmental. The School Enterprise Challenge is a unique competition for schools across the developing world to set up profit-making sustainable businesses, develop their students’ skills & generate funds for education” Says Nik Kafka, managing director of Teach A Man To Fish.

Taking place in two stages, the School Enterprise Challenge asks schools to first research and design a feasible business plan, and then to implement it, establishing a school-based enterprise by the end of 2011. The entire process is intended to be student-led, so that schools not only establish a new sustainable source of income to support their educational activity, but can do so whilst giving their students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of running a business.

This may sound like a daunting task at first, particularly for under-resourced schools, but Teach A Man To Fish will provide all participants with an easy to follow step-by-step guide on how to establish a successful school-based enterprise. Moreover, schools should not feel that they will stand less of a chance of winning if they are under-resourced and will have little start-up capital for their enterprise. The competition is designed to encourage all schools to start up their own enterprise, no matter how small in scale.

In addition, the competition will be judged according to the criteria of ‘People, Profit & Planet,’ meaning that as well as generating a profit, students will have to consider the environment and their local communities when designing and establishing their enterprises. The School Enterprise Challenge is designed therefore to not only benefit the schools that participate and the children that attend them, but also the communities and environments that surround them.

Registration is free of charge and is open until 30th June 2011. Schools then have until 31st July to submit their business plans, and until 2nd December 2011 to start up their enterprises.

ENDS (445 Words)

Teach A Man To Fish is an international non-profit organization working to improve the relevancy, quality, and availability of education in developing countries. Our pioneering approach uses profit-making school-run businesses to teach entrepreneurship and livelihood skills. This model allows schools to generate additional income, improving their financial sustainability, while at the same time enabling them to offer a more relevant and higher quality education.

For more information visit www.teachamantofish.org.uk

Lindsey Crouch
Project Officer
Teach A Man To Fish
89-93 Fonthill Road
London N4 3JH
lindsey@teachamantofish.org.uk
020 7263 2306

This release was published on openPR.