Exhibiting one’s business and interacting with other students about ideas are what any student entrepreneur craves for on a daily basis.

On Wednesday 15 October a Student Entrepreneurs Expo for all Kovsies was held at the Thakaneng Bridge on the Bloemfontein Campus.

About two dozen students were showcasing their businesses, ranging from clothing stores, ICT services, graphic design, online magazines and energy saving. The expo is one of many that will be held again in 2015.

The purpose of the Expo was to give student entrepreneurs a platform to increase their clientele and interact with their target market.

A Business Seminar held at the Mabeleng Auditorium later on the same day, boasted with a packed venue full of students hungry for knowledge.

Speakers such as Lebohang Molikoe, made a point of speaking to students in a casual manner, putting emphasis on the street-smart advice he was dishing out. He said he understood that at institutions of higher learning, students are taught to be critical thinkers and typically, intellectual conversations about entrepreneurship are the norm. However, Molikoe’s talk was aimed at taking students to the streets and showing them how it is done practically on ground level.

A former UFS student, Thobile Mushwana, who’s the chairman of his own company called Uncommon Business, also gave a talk in which he shared what he has learnt in his journey as an entrepreneur so far. He placed a lot of emphasis on having mentors and how valuable their contribution has been in his life.

Sharon Mohale from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) was the final speaker at the seminar. She shared with the audience what the role of SEDA is. SEDA does not offer any financial assistance, but offers support in areas like putting a business proposal together.

At the end of the day, invaluable wisdom was shared at the seminar, which has helped student entrepreneurs stay motivated to continue in their quest to contribute to the country’s economy in a bigger way in the future.