Do you have what it takes to be part of the 2011 Sauder Africa Initiative team?

It is that time of year again, when UBC’s top students compete for a place on a project that changes the lives of African youth. Do you think you have what it takes to make the Sauder Africa Initiative team? It will change your life too.

In the Sauder Africa Initiative we believe that business is a driving force for economic growth, locally and globally. We see logic in sound business plans, ambitious marketing strategies and positive cash-flow projections over aid. We want to be successful and measure that success by how many companies we help establish, how fast our companies grow and how much economic benefit they create. In the Sauder Africa Initiative, we are social entrepreneurs... and I emphasize the word entrepreneurs. We are passionate individuals who want to help others escape poverty. Knowledge is our strategic competitive advantage and we ‘walk the talk’ by passing it on to the youth of East Africa’s largest slum, Kibera, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Each year we select a passionate, creative, and dedicated group of students to learn about social entrepreneurship, business planning and Kenya; to spearhead our fundraising efforts; and to have the opportunity to spend the summer teaching the Kenya youth. Our work directly helps combat the extreme poverty that strikes at Kibera’s 1.2 million inhabitants, where unemployment exceeds 80%.

We set out to empower, not give out handouts. We teach financial independence and how to use your strengths and skills to your advantage. We challenge our students to be successful entrepreneurs and change agents in their own community and country. We learn about each other, about our culture, and about the challenges our Kenyan friends face. We learn about ourselves.

If you want to be one of us, be a change agent, create friendships that will last a lifetime and above all, make a difference in the life of others, we would love to meet you at our info session on November 16^th at 1 pm in SCARFE 201.