First bursaries awarded by Regenesys and Microsoft 4Afrika

© magdal3na – Fotolia.com

The bursaries available are designed to assist academically talented African individuals in need of financial support, and help them acquire leadership and management skills.

Applicants across Africa between the ages of 18 and 34 are invited to apply for the higher certificate and postgraduate Diplomas in Business Management. Teams are in place to process any additional applications.

Lack of funds

Molefi Mochela from South Africa, one of the initial 14 successful applicants, was awarded a bursary for the postgraduate diploma in Business Management. He says that he once enrolled for a postgraduate degree, but dropped out due to lack of funds. "I am responsible for four school-going nephews who no longer have parents. As a result of my financial situation, I am totally dependent on the generosity of this bursary to support my studies," said Mochela.

Congolese born Marie-Pierre Lisumbu said the bursary was an opportunity to help businesses in Africa create investment plans that will build capital so that the continent is not reliant on first world countries. Lisumbu has been accepted for a Higher Certificate in Business Management. "My father is currently unemployed due to issues concerning his identity document. As a result, without the help of financial aid, it will not be possible for me to study at a tertiary institution," she said.

Hunger for knowledge

"Regenesys is pleased with the amount of initial application responses received for the bursary programme," Dr. Marko Saravanja, chairperson of Regenesys Business School said. "It indicates that our continent has a hunger for knowledge and we are privileged to be providing aid to deserving students that want to study further but have been unable to do so, due to various challenging circumstances."

"I believe that the time for Africa is now, with such initiatives that seek to produce future leaders, giving the youth the opportunity to transform the continent into a knowledge enabled economy that results in more entrepreneurship and job opportunities," said Patrick Onwumere, director of Youth Enablement, Africa Initiatives at Microsoft.

Regenesys and Microsoft 4Afrika are encouraging candidates to continue applying for bursaries. "There are still bursaries available for those who want to take up the opportunity to improve their lives. It's amazing to see the amount of change that this programme has brought into the lives of the first 14 successful applicants," says Saravanja.

Applicants for the bursary can apply on the Regenesys Foundation bursary website, http://bursary.regenesys.org.