Student entrepreneur a finalist in Entrepreneurship Intervarsity Competition
UKZN student entrepreneur, Trianne Amarchund, has made it to the finals of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) national Entrepreneurship Intervarsity Challenge to be held in Pretoria in November, where she will be competing with her counterparts from other provinces.
The Intervarsity Challenge is an initiative of the EDHE, a programme of the University Education Branch of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The competition is funded through the DHET’s University Capacity Development Programme and is supported by Universities South Africa (USAf) and its partners, the Allan Gray Orbis and SAB Foundations.
Amarchund was placed first in the Existing Social Impact Category at the KwaZulu-Natal rounds from 23 to 27 August, where she competed with students from sister universities, Durban University of Technology, Mangosuthu University of Technology and the University of Zululand.
"Reaching the finals for the EDHE competition feels surreal," said Amarchund. "I’ve always wanted to represent my university and province at a national level, I just never thought it would be business-related."
Currently enrolled for a master’s degree at UKZN’s Centre for Communication and Media Studies, she is the owner and creator at LaeltheLabel, the first novelty crayon business in South Africa. The non-toxic, textured crayons have unique educational value in that they are not just for art, but can also be used as learning and teaching tools for imaginative play, learning through play and cognitive development activities.
Amarchund is one of the student entrepreneurs on the ENSPIRE Enterprise Accelerator Programme, an initiative of UKZN InQubate aimed at incubating UKZN students who own businesses.
She said: "The support I’ve received from the InQubate team has been nothing short of phenomenal. They have been on the ball with communication, care and insight. They have pretty much been 'the village' I need to help me navigate the business world. I feel honoured and privileged to be part of this programme and look forward to giving back in every way I can."
Words: Khutšo Ramontja