The eight delegates dubbed themselves the
Boom!Crew, and chose the strapline 'a force for good' inspired by Virgin Unite's focus on
business for good. Before being whisked away to London by the Virgin Atlantic team, they were equipped with smart phones courtesy of
Virgin Mobile and then coached on social media strategy by
leading digital marketing agency, World Wide Creative.
The highlight of their tour was to meet the great man, Richard Branson, himself at the launch of his upcoming book,
Screw Business As Usual. Posing with the team, Branson encouraged the eight plucky South Africans to "have fun, and the money will come". The Boom!Crew is an initiative of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurs receive Branson-inspired learning, mentorship and networking.
The Boom!CrewThe Boom!Crew is comprised of eight entrepreneurs who are currently being mentored by The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. They are:
- The founders of Eight Bit Octopus (Vuyo, Rouan, Riyahd, Randall and Phillip)
- Sean Venter, Founder: MTI Technologies
- Mongezi Mtati, Founder: Wordstart
- Zanecebo Mchunu, Founder: Soweto Internet Radio
Together with World Wide Creative, the sponsors Virgin Mobile, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Unite set up the plucky entrepreneurs with social networking tools, a blog, twitter and Facebook accounts, and have been recording their progress along the way. The delegates have been tasked to network, fly the SA flag and have loads of fun - as well as pick up a few tips along the way. Their progress is being recorded on their impromptu blog (check it out here).
World Wide Creative Johannesburg GM, Louis Janse van Rensburg, said, "This has been an inspirational project to work on, and we're encouraged to see the upswing in interest in entrepreneurship in South Africa. World Wide Creative has been inspired to see that Virgin, our client, is so passionate about inspiring and nurturing entrepreneurial talent in this country. Through Virgin Unite and the Branson Centre, there is real progress being made which is deeply encouraging."
You can follow the Boom!Crew on their
Posterous blog and find out more about
Branson Centre For Entrepreneurship here and
Virgin Unite here.
