African Couture wins GIBS MBA Business Plan Competition

The competition, which is open to all GIBS full-time Entrepreneurship MBA students and GIBS MBA students taking the advanced entrepreneurship elective course, had 49 students participating this year. The competition aims to give MBA students the opportunity to develop business skills that they then integrate and apply in a number of settings when they venture to run their own businesses. Students are expected to deliver a dynamic presentation that demonstrates strategic thinking and the use of analytic skills.

This year's students produced and presented brilliant business plans, but ultimately the panel of judges unanimously agreed on Chipo Nyamanhindi of African Couture as the overall winner.

Dr Jonathan Marks, senior lecturer and director of the full-time MBA programme at GIBS, said: "The competition was stiff, but Chipo's business plan for African Couture showed a lot of promise and traction as well as viability. Throughout this course Chipo has proved she has a brilliant mind and is an innate entrepreneur. Congratulations to her."

Second successive win by a woman

Chipo's business plan was for an online authentic African couture store that specialises in acquiring sourcing genuine African-sourced-and-made African clothing from African designers around the continent. The concept was developed through her extensive travels through African countries where she was met with great variety, colours and the beauty of African materials as well as the desire to springboard talented young African designers to a broader reach.

It is praiseworthy that this is the second successive win by a woman in the competition; last year's winner Veronica Shezi hit the ground running and took her catering business to next level.

The judging panel was very impressed with Chipo's presentation; not only did her plan identify a niche market, but she had a clear strategy from the onset and proved that she had a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors in the market.

Commenting on the importance of entrepreneurship in South Africa, Marks added: "We are living in times when young and dynamic entrepreneurs are needed in the country in order to create much-needed jobs in various sectors; we hope all participants take their business plans and turn them into viable and profitable businesses."

As this year's winner, Nyamanhindi had some tips to share with prospective entrants of this gruelling competition. "As we are now living in the digital age I explored the viability of an online business that would be able to service those with a taste for authentic African wear and looking for the convenience that online shopping offers. My African couture business plan has been in the pipeline for a while; I basically took the knowledge that I have acquired during my MBA programme to make it a reality."