The experiences on the Young Minds 2019 programme have made a significant impact on my life.

These are the words of Kian Enslin, a 2019 participant on the Young Minds Programme of the University of Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development, or more commonly referred to as USB-ED.

Enslin was awarded the Young Minds Most Promising Entrepreneur prize at the 2019 awards ceremony, which was held in Stellenbosch at the end of November.

As part of his award, Enslin was sponsored to attend the Global Accelerator Programme and the UPitch 2020 – The Curtain Raiser for the iXi Summit 2020 in Haryana, India which took place at the end of January. The UPitch 2020 event brought together brilliant, young minds full of fiery ideas and each attendee was invited to pitch a business idea.

The participants, many of them who were visiting from South Africa, The Netherlands and Bulgaria in addition to their Indian counterparts (from Naropa Fellowship) had the opportunity to chat with Nitin Sethi, Vice President, Digital, Indigo Airlines, during the break which was followed by UPitch – The Pitching Competition. Here, 10 startups got the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of mentors and investors.

“I had a lot of personal growth during the last year.  On the tour, I gained a lot of knowledge about the business ecosystem of India and how I can apply new ways of thinking in my business. On the course, I had the best experiences during the business part of the programme. “

Enslin added that the programme helped with his ability to start his own business. “I gained the self-confidence to start and I registered my own company called ELux Projects & Property Management. I gained vital business knowledge that as set me up to know what to do before starting a business, the management thereof and setting yourself up for success. I have already started 2 projects.

“I am thankful for the experience USB-ED gave me was definitely one I will never forget.”